Passengers safe after plane crashlands at Manila airport

The plane suffered heavy damage, airport officials said.

The 45 passengers, including at least 23 South Koreans and three Caucasians, were mostly unhurt except for a baby girl who had bruised her face, officials and witnesses said.

The plane, with a crew of four, was on its way to the Boracay tourist resort in the central Philippines when its hydraulic system developed problems, the pilots said.

With one of its two main landing gears disabled, the plane headed back for Manila. ‘‘The passengers were a bit tense and nervous,’’ Chief Pilot Captain Carlos Kintanar said in a radio interview.

‘‘When I reached the point that my fuel was only good for 30 minutes…and we had thunderstorms all over the place, I decided to bring the plane down for an emergency landing,’’ he said.