All on board, including a doctor, a nurse and foreign nationals, were killed after the plane, used in the country’s coronavirus response, caught fire as it took off in Manila for Japan.

MANILA — A plane used as an air ambulance by the Philippine health department to fight the coronavirus outbreak burst into flames as it took off from Manila’s airport for Japan on Sunday night, killing all onboard, the airport said.

The light aircraft was carrying eight people, including the pilot and two crew members, a doctor, a nurse, a flight medic and an American and a Canadian passenger, according to local radio reports, citing airport officials.

It was not clear whether the passengers were being airlifted for treatment of the viral disease.

“Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident,” the Manila International Airport Authority said in a statement, adding that the runway had been closed and an investigation was underway.

Source : https://www.nytimes.com/…/lion-air-crash-philippines-corona…