By Bianca Flowers and Stephen Culp
CHICAGO, Sept 6 (Reuters) – At least five people died when an Amazon Prime Air cargo flight overran a runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, prompting the closure of all runways and taxiways, local officials said.
Prime Air Flight 7598 overran the airport’s diagonal runway just before 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and struck multiple vehicles on the ground, officials said during a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
Amazon and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department earlier confirmed that an incident occurred as the plane was trying to land.
Five people were also injured in the crash, including three who are in critical condition, officials said.
All runways and taxiways at the Miami airport were closed as of 3 p.m. EDT. Travelers should “expect significant delays and potential cancellations,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X.
National Public Radio, citing Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, reported “multiple patients” from the incident.
The plane was a Boeing 767-300 that had departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Cargo airline 21 Air operated the plane for Amazon, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
The cargo airline did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Reuters photos after the crash showed the jet with its nose on the ground and tail tilted up. The right side of the plane had what appeared to be scorch marks.
Amazon is still gathering details about what happened, company spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. “We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,” Nantel said in a statement. “Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the crash.
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers in Chicago, Stephen Culp in New York and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Sergio Non, Edmund Klamann and Paul Simao)
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