The nose landing gear of a passenger jet collapsed on a runway while taxiing Friday, injuring two people and forcing the shutdown of Guam's international airport, officials said.
Northwest Airlines Flight 74 from Narita, Japan, with 318 passengers aboard, was pulling into a gate at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport when the gear collapsed, airport spokeswoman Rolenda Faasuamalie said.
The passengers and crew exited the aircraft by emergency chutes. Only one of the injured was hospitalized, officials said.
Arriving flights were rerouted to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and to Saipan in the neighboring Northern Mariana Islands. Guam's airport will remain closed until the plane is removed from the runway, Faasuamalie said, reports the AP.
According to Reuters, the Pacific island's airport was closed and all international arrivals diverted to the nearby Saipan island or the U.S. air force base on Guam.
"Three people were injured. I don't know the extent of the injuries, but one passenger was taken to the naval hospital," Guam Governor Felix Camacho told reporters.
The passengers, most of them Japanese tourists, were being kept in a holding area. There were 13 flight attendants and three pilots on the flight.
"Thank God he's OK," said Elizabeth Medina, a Guam resident, after being informed that her husband had been evacuated safely from the plane.
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