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11/23/2024 07:10:54 pm

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AirAsia Zest Passengers Rush Off Emergency Exits After Plane Skids Off Philippine Runway

Passengers rushed out of an AirAsia Zest aircraft on emergency inflatable slides on Tuesday after it overshot the Kalibo airport runway in the central Philippines.

The emergency happened while Indonesian searchers were combing the Java Sea for signs of an AirAsia plane that went missing on Sunday. Bodies and wreckage of the ill-fated aircraft were found off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday.

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The AirAsia Zest plane left Manila bound for Kalibo, with 159 passengers and crew on board.

In a statement, the airlines said flight crew deployed an emergency slide to quickly get passengers safely off from the Airbus A320-200 after it touched down at the Kalibo airport in the province of Aklan in the Philipines. Kalibo is the gateway to Boracay Island, a popular tourist destination.

No one was injured in the incident. The plane was left on a grass-filled field where it skidded off near the end of the runway. Kalibo Airport was reportedly closed after the incident.

Passengers said stormy weather in the southern Philippines delayed takeoff.

One passenger said the flight was calm until turbulence hit as the plane was about to land. The airline is partly owned by AirAsia Philippines, the local affiliate of Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad.

Another AirAsia Zest plane skidded off the Kalibo International Airport runway in December last year but no one was reported hurt in the incident.

The runway overshoot happened shortly before bodies and debris from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 were fished out of the Java Sea.

In a statement on Tuesday night, AirAsia Philippines confirmed flight Z2272 from Manila veered off the Kalibo International Airport runway at 5:43 PM on touchdown. The airline said all 153 people on board deplaned safely. All passengers were taken to a hotel by AirAsia staff.

Torrential rains and flash floods hit the southern Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, but it was not clear if stormy weather led to the runway incident at Kalibo.

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