A plane crash occurred during takeoff at Senegal’s Blaise Diagne International Airport, according to local officials. The incident involved a Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
Air Senegal flight HC301, operated by Transair, “overran the runway” at approximately 1:14 a.m. on Thursday, according to a statement from Senegal’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Land, and Air Transport.
According to the ministry, there were a total of 78 individuals on board the aircraft, which included two pilots and four cabin crew members.
According to the Senegalese military, a total of eleven individuals sustained injuries, with four of them being in critical condition.
Videos circulating on the internet seem to depict a Transair plane, identified by its serial number 6V-AJE, resting on a grassy bank. The visuals reveal a damaged left engine on the aircraft, with Aqueous Film Forming Foam seemingly covering the surrounding brush near the runway.
The Blaise Diagne airport is the primary airport that serves Dakar, the capital of Senegal. However, the flight was originally scheduled to go to Bamako, Mali.
The accident resulted in the closure of the airport for several hours.