A Dynamic Airways plane engine caught fire Thursday on the runway of the Fort Lauderdale airport, forcing passengers to evacuate via emergency chutes.
According to a tweet from WSVN, 14 people were injured — three of whom were taken to an area hospital with unspecified injuries — after a fire broke out on an engine of a Boeing 767 airliner that was taxiing for take-off at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Three of the airplane's four chutes deployed for passengers to evacuate, and people on other airplanes shot video and posted photos of the incident online.
"I'm told one of the engines caught fire as the plane was taxiing, getting ready for departure. I don't know the number of people on board, and I don't know the condition of the people, but I was told the fire was put out by a fire rescue team on sight," FLL spokesperson Greg Meyer told WSVN.
According to an FAA statement quoted by the news station, the engine went up in flames around 12:45 p.m., and an "aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway."
The Mirror U.K. said the plane can carry up to 290 passengers, but it's not yet clear exactly how many were aboard on Thursday.
WSVN reported that Runway 28 was initially the only airport runway affected, but authorities ended up halting all runway access at the airport by 1 p.m. One woman, whose mother was reportedly aboard a nearby plane, tweeted that her mother was stuck at the airport after the incident.
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