In footage broadcast by the Andean country’s television networks and captured by eyewitnesses and a control tower camera, the aircraft, which had built up speed for takeoff, is seen colliding with a fire truck that entered the runway, blocking its path .
An airliner on take-off collided with a fire truck that entered the runway on Friday, killing two firefighters, setting a wing and part of the fuselage on fire and requiring the emergency evacuation of passengers, according to converging official sources.
Lima Airports Partners (LAP), the company that manages Jorge Chavez Airport, “deeply regrets the loss of life of two members of its aeronautical fire service in the crash of flight LA2213,” which connected Lima to Juliaca, a statement said. made public.
The airline LATAM, which operates the domestic flight, stressed for its part that “no passengers or crew members lost their lives”, without specifying how many people were on board the aircraft (it was an Airbus A320, according to specialized tracking websites of air traffic).
The Ministry of Transport of Peru confirmed that there was an “accident on the runway of Jorge Chavez Airport”.
LAP added that its teams provided “necessary care to all passengers, who are fine”. “We are conducting an investigation to ascertain the causes of the accident,” he added.
The Lima fire department announced that it was alerted at 15:25 (local time; 22:25 Greek time) and that four ambulances and first aid units responded.
In footage broadcast by the Andean country’s television networks and captured by eyewitnesses and a control tower camera, the aircraft, which had built up speed for takeoff, is seen colliding with a fire truck that entered the runway, blocking its path .
With the wheel system and one wing damaged, the plane continues its course with the right wing partially dragging on the tarmac, bursting into flames. As soon as it stops, thick black smoke rises from the plane, which is on fire.
Departures and arrivals at the airport have been suspended “until further notice,” the company that manages it said.
It is the second incident involving LATAM aircraft in two months. Last month, its plane with 48 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Asuncion airport after a storm damaged part of its nose in flight.
RES-EMP
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