Xiamen Air passenger jet overshoots runway in Manila, no casualties

REUTERS - A Xiamen Air aircraft with 165 people on board veered off an airport runway in the Philippines capital of Manila shortly before midnight (1555 GMT) on Thursday (August 16), but there were no casualties. The Boeing 737-800, landing after a flight from Xiamen "went off the runway during a heavy downpour," said Connie Bungag, the officer in charge of Manila International Airport Authority's (MIAA) public affairs office. Xiamen Air is a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines. "All 157 passengers and eight crew were evacuated without injuries, according to XiamenAir," Boeing said in a statement, adding it was closely monitoring the situation. Philippine airport authorities said the passengers of Xiamen flight 8667 would be brought to a hotel near Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which services international flights to the country. Due to the incident, NAIA's international runway will be closed until 12 p.m. (0400GMT) local time on Friday (August 17), a separate statement from airport authorities said. Xiamen Air is a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines.