A plane from Latam Peru, which was covering the Lima-Juliaca route, suffered a strong collision with a fire truck that was on the runway.
What can be seen in the impressive images that have been shared on social networks is a plane that is traveling on the runway before taking off and catches fire.
The truck against which it collided would correspond to the Rescue and Fire Fighting Service, and it just hit the engine of the aircraft, which caused a fire in the tail of the plane.
The information at the beginning was very confusing and different media published unconfirmed information. However, the AFP confirms that two people who were in the fire truck, for whom it is not known why it was on the track, would have died.
The Ministry of Transportation confirmed the event, stating that “an accident occurred on the runway of the Jorge Chávez airport.”
The Lima firefighters indicated that at 3:25 p.m. local time the emergency was registered, for which ambulances and at least four units were dispatched.
The airport confirmed that it had completed the entire process to deal with the emergency. “Our teams are providing the necessary care to all passengers, who are doing well. Likewise, we are investigating to determine the causes of the event,” reported the company Lima Airport Partners, operator of the Jorge Chávez airport in Lima.
Users on the social network Twitter have shared a video from a much more distant anglewhich shows the shocking moment when the plane collides directly with the truck, at high speed.
Accident victims
According to the airport, the two fatalities would have been members of the aeronautical fire brigade: “Lima Airport Partners deeply regrets the loss of the lives of two members of the LAP Aeronautical Fire Brigade in the accident that occurred this afternoon between a firefighters and the aircraft that served flight LA2213 that covered the Lima-Juliaca route that occurred this afternoon,” the entity reported.
“We express our solidarity with the family of Ángel Torres of the Garibaldi 6 Fire Company and Nicolás Santa Gadea of the Garibaldi 7 Fire Company,” the airport said in front of the people who died.
The airline clarified that there are no fatalities among crew and passengers. “We regret to confirm that flight LA2213 that covered the Lima – Juliaca route, operated by LATAM Airlines Peru, suffered an accident on the ground. There are no deceased passengers or crew members.” This is the information that the airline shares in your account Twitter.
Later they clarified more specific information in a statement: “There are no deaths among the 102 passengers and 6 crew members. As a precaution, all passengers and crew are being referred to care centers.
In addition, the airline regretted the death of the firefighters in the statement: “LATAM Airline Peru regrets the death of 2 firefighters who were in the vehicle that collided with the plane, as reported by the Jorge Chávez Airport concessionaire, Lima Airport Partners” .
Operations at the airport were suspended due to the accident “until further notice,” Lima Airport Partners reported.
recent events
Last month a Latam plane with 48 passengers on board made an emergency landing in Asunción, without an engine and badly damaged, after going through a strong storm.
The Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM Airlines, was created in 2012 after the merger of the Chilean LAN and the Brazilian TAM- operates 144 destinations in 22 countries with 30,000 workers.
With information from AFP.