Air ambulance crash kills 8 in Philippines

An air ambulance operated by Philippines health officials crashed shortly after departure from Manila International Airport on Sunday.

The crash killed all eight people on board, including crew and medical professionals, news website Rappler said.

The website cited airport officials as stating that the plane burst into flames after it approached the end of a runway and was about to take off around 8:00 p.m. local time. The fire has since been put out.

The medical team, which has reportedly been attending to COVID-19 patients, was heading to Haneda Airport in Japan when the incident occurred. It was unclear whether coronavirus patients were on board.

Dhaka/Mukul