No casualty after Korean Air jet overshoots runway
KOREA AIR on Monday said no one died or got hurt after one of its jets overshot the runaway at the Cebu International Airport on Sunday evening.
“We will make all efforts to ensure the situation is resolved as early as possible in cooperation with the Auler Local Aviation Authority and government authorities,” the airline said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Flight KE631 made an “abnormal landing” due to bad weather at the Cebu airport, it said.
In a separate statement, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority said all 162 passengers and 11 crew members had been safely evacuated for medical evaluation. The airport would remain closed until midnight of Oct. 25 while the aircraft was being removed.
The Seoul-based airline has not had a fatal plane crash since 1997, according to Aviation Safety Network, a website that records aviation accidents.
Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it would help overseas Filipino workers whose flights might have been canceled because of the accident.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan V. Ople in a statement said she had ordered a team from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration help OFWs stranded at the Cebu Airport.
Two Filipino seafarers were on board the Korean Air plane when it overshot the runway late Sunday, Ms. Ople said, citing an OWWA report. Both were reported safe and uninjured.
“The DMW will continue to monitor the situation at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and extend assistance to all OFWs who have been affected by the decision of airport authorities to suspend all flights for a still undetermined period,” she added. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
