At least five people have been killed and five others injured after an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport, crashed into vehicles and caught fire on Sunday.
Miami-Dade County Fire Chief, Ray Jadallah, said three of the injured victims were taken to trauma centres in critical condition, while two others were treated at a local hospital.
According to Jadallah, the aircraft struck several vehicles after leaving the runway, trapping some victims inside the vehicles.
He said specialised technical rescue teams were deployed to extricate those trapped, while search-and-rescue operations were also conducted for the pilot and co-pilot, who were trapped inside the aircraft.
However, officials did not disclose the fate of the pilot and co-pilot and declined to take further questions after briefing journalists.
The Boeing 767, operated as Prime Air Flight 7598, arrived from Puerto Rico at about 1:58pm local time before the crash. Footage from the scene showed thick smoke billowing from the blue-and-white aircraft as emergency responders rushed to the site.
Jadallah said about 60 fire apparatuses and nearly 200 personnel from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were deployed to conduct firefighting and search-and-rescue operations.
Fire officials later said foam was used to extinguish a fire in the aircraft’s engine compartment.
They added that one person was trapped underneath one of the vehicles involved in the crash and had to be rescued by specialised technical personnel.
Hazardous materials units also shut down the aircraft’s engine and worked to contain a fuel leak.
The cause of the crash will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
