A Korean Air plane has overshot the runway while landing in bad weather in the central Philippines, but no injuries were reported among the 173 people on board, according to authorities.
The incident took place on Mactan Island in central Cebu province late on Sunday.
The 11 crew members and 162 passengers on Korean Air flight KE631 used emergency slides to escape from the damaged aircraft, officials and the airline said.
“All passengers are safe and being attended by ground personnel,” the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said in a statement.
The plane remained stuck in the grass at the end of the lone runway at the Mactan Cebu International Airport on Monday, forcing the closure of the airport.
The front underbelly of the plane was sheared off, and its nose was heavily damaged, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The plane lay tipped forward on a grassy area with its front landing wheel not visible and emergency slides deployed at the doors, the AP said.
Dozens of flights to and from Cebu province were cancelled, including those of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, which initially announced more than 50 cancelled domestic flights.
The Airbus A330 from Incheon, South Korea, had attempted to land twice before overshooting the runway on the third attempt, Korean Air Lines Co said in a statement.
“Passengers have been escorted to three local hotels and an alternative flight is being arranged,” the airline said of flight KE361. “We are currently identifying the cause of the incident.”Korean Air President Woo Kee-hong issued a letter of apology regarding the flight on the airline’s website, noting that a thorough investigation would be performed with local aviation authorities and Korean authorities to determine the cause.
“We remain committed to standing behind our promise of safe operations and will do our very best to institute measures to prevent its recurrence,” Woo said.
Korean Air has not had a fatal passenger crash since 1997, according to Aviation Safety Network, a website that compiles aviation accidents.