Boeing skids off runway in Senegal; 11 injured

A plane with 78 passengers skidded off a runway before takeoff at Senegal’s main airport on Tuesday, injuring 11 people and bringing the facility to a halt.

The Blaise Diagne airport said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident, which occurred at around 0100 GMT as the Transair-owned Boeing 737-300 BA.N chartered by Air Senegal was preparing to fly to Mali.

Transair 737-300 substantially damaged after overrunning the runway while landing at Dakar Airport, Senegal. 73 passengers were able to evacuate with minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/s82XZ3hdkj

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A night-time video shared on social media showed a plane with the logo of Senegal-based airline Transair standing in grass with a wing covered in fire-suppressing foam.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the video.

The airport statement said it activated emergency protocols to evacuate passengers.

“For now, the airport is closed … The reopening of the airport is expected within the next few hours,” it added.

(Reuters)