One of the first firefighters to respond to a collision between two aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2 has detailed his experience of the incident to NHK.

A Japan Airlines passenger jet hit a coast guard plane on the runway immediately after touching down.

The JAL aircraft burst into flames. All 379 people on board escaped.

The captain of the coast guard plane also survived, but five other crewmembers died.

Naruse Shinnosuke belongs to a firefighting team stationed at the airport.

He recalls seeing the JAL aircraft's left engine and wing burning fiercely.

Naruse's team began spraying water onto the fuselage when passengers were still inside.

He recalls seeing two escape slides deployed at the front, and another behind the burning engine.

He says the firefighters hosed the engine to prevent the flames from reaching the rear slide.

Naruse says a number of passengers remained near the aircraft after escaping. He says some waited for family members, while others appeared too stunned to move.

Naruse recalls calling out, "It's dangerous! Move away!"

He says the passengers' prolonged presence could have hampered the firefighting work, adding that he had to physically pull some of them away.

Naruse says he had never dealt with an emergency in which so many lives were at stake. He says he hopes the experience provides valuable lessons.