Turkish plane skids off runway metres from the sea

A Turkish passenger plane skidded off a runway just metres from the sea as it landed at an airport in Trabzon on Saturday, local media reported.

The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara and landed in Trabzon, but skidded off the runway in the northern airport.

Dramatic images showed the passenger plane hanging off a cliff several metres from the Black Sea with its wheels stuck in the mud.

Pegasus Airlines confirmed that there were no injuries or deaths among the 162 passengers, who were safely evacuated along with four cabin crew and two pilots.

One of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, said panic erupted onboard during the landing.

"We tilted to the side, the front was down while the plane's rear was up. There was panic; people shouting, screaming," she told state-run news agency Anadolu.

The airport was temporarily shut before reopening on Sunday morning.

The cause of the incident was not known but an investigation is under way, the Trabzon governor's office said.