Cork airport closed until 20:00 after fatal crash

 

The main runway at Cork Airport will remain closed at least until 20:00 today following a fatal crash in which six people were killed.

 

Aer Lingus and Ryanair have cancelled some flights but others have been diverted to Shannon.

 

Aer Lingus has cancelled flights to Heathrow, Amsterdam and Malaga. Passengers on other flights, including services to Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, must make their own way to Shannon Airport.

 

Ryanair passengers due to fly to Stansted, Dublin, Liverpool and Gatwick should check in at Cork Airport from where they will be transferred by bus to Shannon.

Cork Airport said its runway would re-open later today once the wreckage of the crashed commuter plane has been cleared.

 

The Manx 2 turbo prop, carrying 12 people, burst into flames after slamming into the runway at Cork Airport during heavy fog yesterday morning.

 

Of the six fatalities, three were British citizens, two were Irish - including a cousin of the Irish President Mary McAleese -and one Spanish. Two of the survivors are British, two are from Northern Ireland and two from the Republic of Ireland.

 

The injured, two of whom climbed from the wreckage of flight NM 7100, were taken to Cork University Hospital where they are all said to be comfortable. None of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening although two passengers are in a serious condition.

 

by Dinah Hatch and Linsey McNeill


 

Friday, February 11, 2011

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