Eight people were killed on Sunday (March 29) after a plane delivering medical supplies crashed in Manila, the Philippines. <br /><br />The West Wind 24 business jet was on a medical evacuation mission and carrying items to Tokyo's Haneda Airport when it crashed at the end of the runway at around 8pm local time.<br /><br />Footage from onlookers shows how the plane, operated by Lionair Inc, burst into flames. Officials said it was unable to takeoff and there are not believed to be any survivors.<br /><br />Ed Monreal, General Manager at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, said the casualties included one American, one Canadian, and six Filipinos. They were two crew members and six passengers.<br /><br />The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in a statement that the aircraft "reportedly encountered a technical problem'' before takeoff.<br /><br />CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Captain Donald Mendoza said that the Manila control tower had expressed alarm at the inability of the aircraft to take flight.<br /><br /> A day before the crash, the plane flew had flown to Iloilo in the Philippines to deliver medical supplies.<br /><br />Fire crews extinguished the blaze after one hour. Investigators are now at the scene to find the cause of the crash.<br /><br />In September 2019, another Lionair plane crashed in Calamba City, killing at least nine individuals.<br /><br />CAAP boss Mendoza said that authorities could now ground the company's fleet of helicopters and executive jets.<br /><br />He said: ''Right now, the initial step that we are looking into is grounding the whole fleet. It's quite alarming, but we are looking into the records deeply.<br /><br />''Definitely, we will have a thorough investigation into this, and then we will advise the operator of the actions or steps to be taken.''
