An AirAsia Zest airplane carrying 159 people overshot the runway yesterday, ending up in a muddy field at an airport in the central Philippines after arriving from Manila in windy weather.

Soldiers are distributing rice and water in the typhoon-devastated Philippines and chainsaw-wielding teams are cutting debris from blocked roads as the aid effort picks up pace.

The strongest typhoon this year has slammed into the central Philippines, setting off landslides and knocking out power and communication lines in several provinces. At least four people have died.

Three gold miners died when a bomb they were making at home accidentally exploded in the central Philippines, an army officer said today.