Two planes blown off runway in Finland

TT

Published 16.35

Two planes with a total of over 150 people on board have blown off a runway and into a snowdrift in Kittilä in Finnish Lapland, Finnish media report.

The alarm about a potentially major plane crash came at 16:00 local time on Saturday afternoon. Nine rescue units were called to the scene, reports Lapin Kansa.

According to the rescue service, a passenger plane with about 150 people on board, as well as a smaller plane with fewer than ten people, slid sideways off the runway in the strong wind and into the snowdrift.

The skids occurred at low speed and no one was reported injured. The airport was closed due to the severe weather.

The winter storm, which in Finland has been named Hannes, has left thousands of households without power, writes Yle.

There have also been strong winds in northern Norway. Trees have fallen over houses and cars and roads have been closed, NTB reports.