A tanker smashed into the bridge linking Kansai International Airport with the mainland, leaving about 5,000 people stranded at the facility on Tuesday as strong winds and high waves from Typhoon Jebi blasted western Japan.

The airport, which sits on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, has been flooded and closed since the afternoon. It will not resume operations until at least Wednesday evening, according to airport officials.

The damage to one of the busiest airports in Japan — frequented by visitors to cities in the Kansai area such as Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe — could affect the country's tourism boom.