Thai Lion Air plane skids off runway, no injuries

SONGKHLA, THAILAND, May 2 (TNA) - A passenger plane of low-cost Thai Lion Air slid off the runway into a pothole at Hat Yai International Airport in the Thai South on Saturday morning but all passengers and crews members are safe. The incident took place at about 10:30am when the Boeing 737-900 plan, Flight SL8531, of the budget airline was taking off the Hat Yai International Airport in Songkhla Province destined for Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport. Hat Yai International Airport’s Director Jetsada Petchmedyai confirmed that more than 100 passengers and crew members abroad the plane are safe. Jetsada said, however, that the incident has caused delays to all other flights at the Hat Yai International Airport for at least an hour. According to the airport’s director, passengers were transferred to other flights, while officials were lifting the plane from the pothole on a soft area just off the runway. The airport’s director assumed that a technical error should have caused the incident, but an official probe into the cause of the incident is underway. Updated reports said that the situation at Hat Yai International Airport has returned to normal since Saturday afternoon. (TNA)