Korean Air plane overshoots, airport closed in central Philippines

MANILA: A Korean Air plane carrying 173 passengers and crew members overshot the runway in the Philippines' Cebu province late Sunday night, forcing authorities to close the airport indefinitely, reported Xinhua.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) said in a statement early Monday that the Airbus A330 from Seoul, South Korea landed at 11:11 p.m. local time (1511 GMT) on Sunday and overshot the runway in a landing attempt during heavy rains when the accident occurred.

"No one was hurt during the incident. All 162 passengers and 11 crew onboard the A330 aircraft were immediately evacuated and tended to by airport emergency personnel," airport authorities said in the statement.

The authorities added the incident necessitated the temporary closure of the MCIA runway to allow for the safe removal of the aircraft. "For now, all international and domestic flights to and from MCIA are canceled until further notice," the statement read.

-- BERNAMA