An Asiana Airlines' Boeing 777 passenger jetliner from Seoul, South Korea, crashed and caught fire while landing at San Francisco International Airport in California on US West Coast Saturday.
The plane crashed about 11.30 a.m. (12 midnight India time) and came to rest on the side of one of the airport's four runways, San Francisco Chronicle reported citing Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane reportedly was carrying 291 people. There was no official word on any casualties. The Chronicle citing Rachael Kagan, a spokesperson for San Francisco General Hospital, said an unknown number of injured passengers were headed there.
The airport was shut down to all traffic and emergency teams were on the scene.
Video footage of the plane taken by news helicopters showed the plane on its belly, the Chronicle said. The cockpit was intact but the top of the jet from the front to the wings had burned away. The jetliner's tail section was not visible.
Some witnesses cited by the newspaper said that the tail slammed into the ground first. Aerial news footage showed a trail of debris extending from the embankment at the front of the runway.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending investigators to the airport.
Flights that were scheduled to land at San Francisco were being diverted to Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento.