Passenger jet skids off runway in Turkey

Istanbul : A passenger plane with 168 people onboard skidded off the runway on Saturday night at Trabzon Airport.

The aircraft slid down the edge of a cliff and stopped just short of plunging into the Black Sea.

According to the local media reports, no passengers or crew members on the Pegasus Airlines flight were seriously injured.

All 162 passengers and six crew members were evacuated while work was underway on Sunday to remove the Boeing 737-800 from the site.

Trabzon Governor Yucel Yavuz confirmed that all 168 people on board were evacuated safely.

Yavuz said the cause of the accident was not yet known.

The plane, belonging to private low-cost carrier Pegasus, had arrived from the capital Ankara. The airport was closed to all flights up until 8 am on Sunday morning.

"We stayed inside the plane for at least 20 minutes waiting for someone to help us," said Fatma Gordu, one of the passengers.

She said they first heard a loud noise and then the plane started "shaking" a short while after the plane landed and was advancing on the runway.

"It then swung to one side and back of the plane moved upwards. There was panic, people were screaming," she said, describing the moments of horror.

Meanwhile, Yuksel Gordu, another passenger said it was "a miracle" that they survived.

"The plane could have caught fire or fell into the sea. I thank God it didn't. I feel like going crazy whenever I think about those moments," he said.