No injuries as Somali passenger plane veers off runway after crash-landing

A plane carrying 55 passengers and crew veered off the runway at Somalia’s main airport onto the nearby shoreline on Tuesday during an emergency landing.

The Civil Aviation Authorities said the pilot reported a problem 15 minutes after take-off from Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport and requested permission to return.

It then tried to touch down but overran the runway before coming to rest in shallow water in the Indian Ocean.

No one was injured in the incident which left the Fokker 50 aircraft with a broken wing and nose. Images posted on social media showed passengers walking away from the wreckage.

"The crew managed it professionally and communicated the tower. The tower granted priority landing. They landed, runway two three,” said Starsky Aviation CEO, Ahmed Nur.

The pilot has been praised for his quick thinking which was crucial in saving the people aboard the flight which was bound for the northern city of Gaalkacyo

Transportation Minister Mohamed Farah Nuh said only the aircraft was damaged and that an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the incident.

The African Union’s mission in Somalia wrote on X that emergency responders together with AU and UN troops were quickly deployed to help with rescue efforts.