Plane breaks apart after skidding off runway in Turkey

By: CNN

Posted: Feb 5, 2020 11:37 AM EDT

The passenger plane broke into two after skidding off the runway. Credit: Handout/Istanbul Security Directorate/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

By Gul Tuysuz and Hande Atay Alam, CNN

(CNN) -- An airplane skidded off the runway and broke apart while landing at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, according to CNN Turk.

Turkish media showed the broken plane, and passengers being evacuated.

The Pegasus Airlines plane was carrying 177 people and six crew members, many of whom were injured, according to the Turkish Transportation Ministry.

"There has been no loss of life, the injured passengers are being evacuated off the plane to hospitals," Turkish Transportation Minister Cahit Turan said Wednesday.

The plane caught fire after landing, and ambulances and rescue teams were at the scene to rescue passengers, CNN Turk reported.

"The plane went off the runway shortly after landing," Istanbul's governor Ali Yerlikaya said.

The-CNN-Wire