11 injured in Boeing plane accident in Senegal

Eleven people were injured today when a Boeing plane chartered by Senegal Airlines departed the runway during takeoff from Dakar’s Blaise Diagne International Airport, according to Reuters.

The airport management’s communications service, in a statement, said the plane “veered off the runway during takeoff around 1:00 a.m. Thursday,” adding that the aircraft was a “B300/737” model chartered from the private company Trans Air and was headed to Bamako.

The accident resulted in “11 injuries, with 4 in serious condition” out of 78 passengers, while 6 other passengers are under observation in the airport’s medical services, according to Reuters citing airport management.

The management stated that the airport “is currently closed pending appropriate measures”.

The LAS management group, consisting of the Turkish holding company Limak, Blaise Diagne International Airport in Diass, and the Turkish company Summa, clarified in a statement that “the airport’s reopening will be announced in the coming hours”.

The LAS statement explained that “airport authorities triggered the emergency plan as soon as they received the information, which is why all airport emergency services were mobilized to evacuate and care for the passengers”.