Two passenger planes collide at Japanese airport

(LONDON) — Two passenger planes have collided in Hokkaido, Japan, according to Japanese media reports.

The incident took place at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, some 110 miles east of the city of Sapporo in the northern part of the country, at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time, according to NHK in Japan.

According to airport officials, there was “contact” between a Korean Air plane and a Cathay Pacific plane but it is currently unclear how severe the collision between the airliners was.

The Korean Air plane had had 276 passenger and 13 crew on board when, according to the fire department, it clipped the Cathay Pacific aircraft which was parked at the gate at the time of the accident and had no passengers on board.

Both planes were on the ground at the time of the accident.

Weather reports indicate that visibility is currently poor in the northern part of Japan with heavy snow being reported in some areas and temperatures below freezing at just 24 degrees at New Chitose Airport when the accident happened.

Many flights here have been cancelled at the airport in Hokkaido and disruption is expected to continue for some time, officials said.

This accident comes just over two weeks after that Japanese Airline jet collided and burst into flames after colliding with another plane on the runway at a Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.