(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Nice airport on the French Riviera had to close one of its two runways on Saturday, after a yacht crashed into the rocks below, an airport official said.
Although the southern runway remained shut Saturday, air traffic at France's third-busiest airport was unaffected all day, with planes taking off and landing on the northern runway instead.
However, all air traffic was stopped for an hour from 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), to allow workers to set up a crane to remove the yacht.
Three landings had to be delayed for an hour.
Nice airport is a key destination for Air France and low-cost carrier EasyJet.
Five people from the Nice region were on the 11-metre (36-foot) yacht that crashed, likely due to a navigation error. They were rescued at dawn Saturday, and one of them was rushed to hospital for treatment.
"This boat was located in an area where sailing is forbidden," said Lieutenant-Colonel Yves-Marie Borde, an airport security official.
Similar accidents have happened before, he said, but they have rarely involved such large yachts.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.