Friday, a LATAM Airlines flight departing from Lima’s international airport collided with a firetruck on the runway and caught fire. Authorities said that the plane’s passengers and crew were all unharmed, however two firemen were killed in the truck.
Lima Airport Partners, the firm that manages Jorge Chávez International Airport, announced through Twitter that operations had been halted. The Airbus A320neo carried 102 passengers and six crew members.
The business stated, “Our personnel are giving the appropriate care to all passengers, who are in good health.”
The general commander of the fire department, Luis Ponce La Jara, stated that two firemen were killed and one was injured when their vehicle was struck by the jet. When they collided, both the aircraft and the firetruck were in motion.
In a tweet, President Pedro Castillo sent his sympathies to the families of the fallen firemen.
Flight LA2213 took off from the primary airport in Lima en route to Juliaca, Peru.
Social media videos depicted a huge airliner on the runway emitting smoke.
LATAM Airlines stated that it was saddened by the loss of life and will provide impacted customers the option to reschedule their trips at no additional cost. However, it stated that it had no idea why the firetruck was on the runway.
“No emergency situation was reported on board. It was a flight that had permission to take off and encountered a vehicle on the runway, but we do not know why the truck was there “explained Manuel van Oordt, general manager of LATAM Airlines Peru. We must research and determine why it was present.
The Prosecutor’s Office in Callao, where the airport is located, announced that an inquiry into the accident’s cause had been initiated.
The incident was reported to the fire department at 3:25 p.m., and four rescue units were dispatched.
Saturday activities at Jorge Chávez International Airport have been delayed until 1 p.m. local time, according to aviation officials. In the meanwhile, flights would be direct to other airports.