Pegasus Airlines plane breaks apart after skidding off runway in Turkey

Three people have died after a passenger plane skidded off the runway and broke apart while landing at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday. Koca added that 179 people had been sent to different hospitals in the aftermath of the incident, which appeared to have taken place in poor weather conditions. He said that three people are currently in an intensive care unit. The Pegasus Airlines plane was carrying 183 people in total, including 175 adult passengers, two young children and six crew members, Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said. The airline has confirmed that one of its planes, flight number PC2193, had skidded off the runway. Yerlikaya said the plane skidded up to 60m after landing, before falling up to 40m down a ditch. Footage from the accident site showed the plane off the runway. Dozens of first responders were working around the plane, which appeared to have split in two. The plane broke apart after skidding off the runway. The plane caught fire after landing, and ambulances and rescue teams were at the scene to rescue passengers. The airport has been temporarily closed to air traffic. Weather radar showed a line of showers and thunderstorms moving through the area at the time of the incident.<br/>Prosecutors in the capital Ankara have launched an investigation into the incident.<br/>