*ISLAMABAD – Boeing 737 slid off a runway into a river after crash-landingat a Florida naval air station Friday, officials said. No fatalities havebeen reported.*
The plane carrying 143 people, including a crew, from Guantanamo Bay inCuba ended up in shallow water next to the air station in Jacksonville,with all passengers safely evacuated, naval authorities said.
“There were 136 passengers and seven aircrews on board and all have beenaccounted for,” Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement.
Twenty-one adults were taken to local hospitals, but none were criticallyinjured, the Jacksonville sheriff’s office said on Twitter. Others weretreated for minor injuries at the scene.
Navy security and emergency response personnel, including some 90firefighters, were called to the scene.
Read Top Stories
Images showed the plane lying partially submerged in water after thecrash-landing. “All alive and accounted for. Our fire and rescue teams arefamily to all,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted.
Teams were working to control jet fuel spilling into the St Johns River, headded. The “Rotator” flight from the US base in Cuba carries militarypersonnel and family members.
Boeing said it was aware of the incident and gathering information. -APP/AFP
