Passenger plane in Somalia overshoots runway into shallow seawater near airport

A passenger aircraft carrying 55 people overran the runway at Somalia’s main airport and ended up in shallow water at a nearby beach on Tuesday during an emergency landing following a technical problem shortly after take-off.

There were no injuries from the emergency landing at Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport, and the 50 passengers and five crew members aboard the Starsky Aviation flight were safely evacuated, airline chief executive Ahmed Nur said in a statement.

“The aircraft overran on the runway” before coming to rest on the shore of the Indian Ocean near the airport, Mr Nur said.

He added: “No injuries, no deaths.”

Transportation minister Mohamed Farah Nuh said the rescue team managed to account for everyone aboard and that only the aircraft was damaged.

He said the cause of the crash would be fully investigated.

The flight was bound for the northern city of Gaalkacyo when it developed a problem about 15 minutes after take-off, Ahmed Moalim, director of Somalia’s civil aviation authority, told local media.

During the attempted landing, the aircraft veered off the runway and ended up at the shoreline, he said.