Plane skids off runway in Senegal, injuring 11

via X

A plane with 78 passengers skidded off a runway before take-off at Senegal's main airport on Thursday, 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 chartered by Air Senegal was preparing to fly to Mali.

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.

More from International

  • Israel threatens to expand war if Hezbollah truce collapses

    Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapses, and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was agreed last week.

  • Syria rebels 'at gates' of central city Hama

    Syrian rebel forces arrived at the gates of the key city of Hama on Tuesday, as their fighting with the military sparked "a large wave of displacement", a war monitor said.

  • Russia, US clash at UN over escalation in Syria fighting

    Russia and the United States clashed at the United Nations on Tuesday, accusing each other of supporting terrorism during a Security Council meeting convened over a sudden escalation of fighting in Syria.

  • South Korean lawmakers call to impeach President Yoon

    South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday called for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis in decades in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

  • South Korea President Yoon declares martial law

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television, claiming he would eradicate "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces".