Istanbul plane crash: one dead after Pegasus flight skids off runway after landing from Izmir

One person has died and 157 people were injured after a plane flying into Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport from Izmir skidded off the runway and crashed on Wednesday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

The Pegasus Airlines plane split into three pieces after what Mr Turhan called a rough landing.

The Boeing 737-86J, crashed after a drop of between 30 and 40 metres at the end of the wet runway, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said.

Mr Yerlikaya said 139 people injured in the accident were sent for treatment in 18 hospitals.

He said the plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew from the western province of Izmir. Broadcaster NTV reported that both pilots were critically injured.

"The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for about 50 to 60 metres," Mr Yerlikaya said at the airport.

He said emergency teams were trying to rescue the last injured passenger.

Mr Turhan said flights waiting to land in Sabiha Gokcen had been diverted to Istanbul Airport.

Pegasus said the plane had gone off the runway and that passengers were being moved. A spokeswoman for the company did not provide further details.

Television footage showed serious damage to the plane, with its fuselage broken into three pieces.

Passengers were taken from the plane through cracks in its body.

The plane caught fire after skidding but the flames were extinguished, NTV television reported.

"The accident occurred after the plane could not decelerate and rammed into a field from the end of the runway,” Mr Turhan told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

He said the authorities had no contact with the pilots thus far.