Plane from China's Taiwan slides off runway in central Philippines

MANILA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- A plane from China's Taiwan slid off the runway of an Airport in central Philippine province of Aklan on Wednesday night, prompting Airport authorities to temporarily halt the operation for over an hour as they remove the aircraft from the only runway.

All 122 passengers and crew aboard the Far Eastern Air Transport are all safe.

Spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Eric Apolonio said the accident occurred around 6 p.m. local time while the plane was making a turn to the terminal when one of its tires accidentally hit soft spot in the grassy area off the runway.

Apolonio said the passengers were safely assisted off the plane before emergency Airport responders towed the aircraft.

Other flights had been delayed because of the incident, he said, adding that operations went back to normal at around 7:30 p.m. local time.

The passengers were all holidaymakers bound for Boracay island resort, the Philippines' premier island-beach resort in the central of the country.