Plane on medical evacuation mission crashes, kills eight

Plane on medical evacuation mission crashes, kills eight

Plane crash scene PHOTO by CNN

A chartered medical evacuation flight crashed during takeoff in the Philippines on Sunday, killing eight people, airport officials said.

According to the Manila International Airport Authority, the West Wind 24 aircraft was taking off from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport when it burst into flames and crashed.

“The flight, which was on a medical evacuation mission to Haneda, Japan, was carrying two passengers and six crew members.

“Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident,” it said.

According to an unconfirmed flight manifest, the two passengers were a 63-year-old Canadian man and a 58-year-old Filipino-American woman.

The six Filipinos were three pilots, a flight mechanic, a doctor and a nurse.(dpa/NAN)