At least five people have died after an Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway as it landed in Miami, crashing into vehicles and catching fire, officials said.
Video showed thick smoke billowing from the blue and white Boeing 767 that had arrived around 2 pm (7pm Irish time) from Puerto Rico, as fire trucks raced to the scene.
Miami-Dade County fire chief Ray Jadallah told reporters that in addition to five fatalities, three people were transported to trauma centres “in critical condition” and two more were treated at a local hospital.
The Miami-Dade Fire Department added that the plane operating as Prime Air Flight 7598 caught fire as a result of what it called a crash.
“Firefighters are working on extinguishing the fire and assessing patients,” it said on X.
The fire department said the plane overran a runway and hit multiple vehicles near the airport, where more than 60 firefighting units rushed to the scene.
The airport said all its runways and taxiways have been shut down because of the accident.
Amazon put out a statement saying the aircraft “experienced an incident while attempting to land.”
“This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in the statement.