A tragic air accident occurred at Miami International Airport, where an Amazon delivery plane skidded off the runway during landing, killing five people and injuring five others.
The Boeing 767-300 aircraft, which was carrying out a transport flight for Amazon and operated by the charter company 21 Air, crashed shortly before 14:00 p.m. local time after taking off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
According to authorities, the plane failed to stop on the runway and ended up on the northwest edge of the airport, also hitting several vehicles on the ground.
"At least five people have been killed and five others injured," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a press conference.
Three of the injured are in critical condition, while all the injured have been transported to hospital. Some of them were trapped inside or under vehicles hit by the plane and had to be extricated by rescue teams.
More than 200 firefighters were involved in the emergency operation. According to Miami Fire Chief Raied Jadallah, crews arrived on the scene just moments after the accident and found the plane engulfed in flames and thick smoke.
The fire has been extinguished, but fuel continues to leak in the accident area, making the situation still dangerous.
Immediately after the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a halt to flights at the airport, while the incident caused numerous cancellations and delays.
US authorities have said it is still too early to determine the cause of the accident. The investigation will be led by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the federal agency that investigates air accidents in the US.
Preliminary data from FlightRadar24 shows that the plane was traveling at about 112 knots, or 207 km/h, when it left the usable portion of the runway.
According to tracking data, the plane ended up near a parking lot that serves an Amazon warehouse and other businesses in the area.
At the time of the accident in Miami, there were light storms and winds of variable intensity, however authorities have not confirmed whether the weather conditions influenced the event.
Amazon has expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and stated that it is cooperating with authorities to fully investigate the incident.
"We are saddened to learn that five people lost their lives in today's incident at Miami International Airport," said Kelly Nantel, director of global media relations at Amazon.
The company confirmed that the plane was operated by 21 Air and that it is fully cooperating with the investigation.
The accident occurred during Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest travel periods in the U.S. The Transportation Security Administration had predicted about 17 million travelers at U.S. airports during the holiday week, while about 2.3 million people were expected to travel on Sunday alone.
After the accident, long lines formed at Miami Airport and many passengers faced cancellations and delays, while authorities continue their investigation to determine what caused the plane to skid off the runway.
