Plane crash shakes Japan

2024 has only just started and Japan is sorting through rubble right now as a plane crash, and an earthquake have shaken Japan.

An earthquake took Japan by surprise on New Year’s Day. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 was felt throughout the country. So far, at least 62 have been killed throughout the search for survivors and the search through the rubble. Though Japan has lifted the tsunami warnings, the damage has been done.

The Japan Airlines plane flying from Tokyo Hanada airport to Sapporo Japan carried 379 passengers and crew, all made it out safely with a few minor injuries. The plane was starting to take off from the runway at Tokyo Hanada airport, when the A350 plane collided with a –8 propeller plane. An international investigation into the crash is underway, and information suggests the Coast Guard plane improperly entered the runway where the massive Airbus widebody jet was cleared to land.

Plane Collision in Japan

The collision of Japan Air 516 and the Coast Guard propeller plane raises some questions about who was cleared for takeoff and who was not. Both of the planes were waiting for takeoff, and the propeller-8 –8 started lining up just before the Japan airplane was cleared, but the propeller –8 plane wasn’t cleared, as some say that it possibly misheard what the air traffic control tower said as they maybe had thought that the clearance was for the –8 plane and not for the Japan air a350. The evacuation to get off the Japan Airlines plane was quick as the time it took for all passengers and crew to disembark the flaming fuselage took five minutes after the plane slammed into the ground when attempting to land.

Earthquake on New Years

Japan doubled a fund used for disaster relief and other contingencies to one trillion yen (6.7 billion USD) after a devastating New Year’s Day earthquake, the government said Tuesday, as snow worsened conditions for survivors. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake and the aftershock of the earthquakes have so far killed around 222 people in Ishikawa, laying waste to houses and infrastructure.

Around 16,700 people are stuck in shelters, a lot of people are without running water and food. Many health issues are becoming more severe as more people are ending up with nowhere to go. As the search continues, families, and individuals continue to rebuild, and Japan continues to recover slowly but surely.