Nine dead, 50 hurt in Schiphol crash UPDATE

At least nine people were killed when a Turkish Airlines plane en route from Istanbul crashed on landing at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, officials said. At least 50 people have been injured, 25 seriously, officials said at a news conference at the airport.


The plane, a Boeing 737, was thought to be carrying 135 people.
Many survivors made mobile phone calls to family to report that they were alright.
According to eyewitness reports, the plane was approaching the Polderbaan runway close to the A9 motorway when its tail began to hang low: ‘too low for a landing,’ said one eyewitness on NOS radio.
After attempting to right itself, the plane then went down into a field close to the runway, the eyewitness said. Some said the plane appeared to run out of speed. The A9 has been closed in both directions, causing long traffic jams.
Road closed
The emergency services cannot reach the plane because of its location and the injured are being carried across fields to ambulances, NOS radio said. The plane is on the ground in several pieces. The tail section in particular is heavily damaged. Eyewitnesses also spoke of baggage being strewn across the field.
The crash happened at around 10.40. The weather was calm and there was only a little mist, news agency ANP said.
One woman from a nearby village who reached the crash site shortly after it happened told NOS radio she came across an American man saying ‘I’m okay, I’m okay’. She also spoke of seeing a Turkish man with a broken arm covered in blood and a number of children running across the field.

For photos of the crash, click here

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation