PETALING JAYA: Wisma Putra is in the midst of confirming if any Malaysians were in the Japan Airlines plane that had collided with a Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) aircraft Tuesday (Jan 2).

       "The Malaysian Embassy in Tokyo is currently in contact with officials from Japan Airlines and the Japanese authorities to determine if any Malaysians were on board flight JAL 516, and will extend the necessary assistance.

       "According to reports, all 379 passengers and crew members of flight JAL 516, including eight children, were evacuated, with at least 17 people reported as injured.

       "However, five out of six crew members from the JCG aircraft have been confirmed to have died," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

       In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan also said that the ministry was closely monitoring the situation through Malaysia's embassy in Tokyo.

       On Tuesday, JAL 516 collided with a JCG plane on a Haneda Airport runway, leading to a fire.

       The JCG plane was carrying relief goods for quake-hit areas in the Niigata Prefecture after a series of temblors of up to 7.6 magnitude struck central Japan on Monday (Jan 1) afternoon, public broadcaster NHK reported citing the Japan Coast Guard.

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       @MalaysiaMFA melalui @MYEmbassyTokyo sedang memantau rapat perkembangan susulan sebuah pesawat Japan Airlines (JAL 516) bertembung dengan sebuah pesawat Pengawal Pantai Jepun (JCG) di landasan Lapangan Terbang Haneda, Tokyo pada 2 Januari 2024 jam 5.47 petang waktu tempatan pic.twitter.com/hMeyp4Nr81

       — Mohamad Haji Hasan (@tokmatn9) January 2, 2024