Dozens of people have been injured after an American Airlines flight from Miami overshot a runway and broke in two during a heavy rainstorm in Kingston, Jamaica.
Flight 331, a Boeing 737-800, took off from Miami International Airport at 8.52pm local time (1.52am GMT) on Tuesday and arrived at Norman Manley International Airport at 10.22pm (3.22am GMT). It originated at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.
On impact, the plane's fuselage cracked, its right engine broke off and the left main landing gear collapsed.
The jet was carrying 148 passengers and a crew of six, and the majority of those aboard were Jamaicans going home for Christmas.
Four people were seriously injured, and a total of 29 were taken to hospital. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises, a spokesman for the airline said.
Passengers were seen to be bleeding as they got off the plane, mostly from the upper parts of their bodies.
Passenger Pilar Abaurrea, of Keene, New Hampshire, described a chaotic scene as the plane skidded along the runway in heavy rain.
She said: "All of a sudden, when it hit the ground, the plane was kind of bouncing, someone said the plane was skidding and there was panic."
As the crew opened the emergency exits and people scrambled to get off, Ms Abaurrea, 62, said she and her husband Gary Wehrwein noticed a number of people with injuries, including one person who had a cut on his head from falling baggage.
She said the entire flight was very turbulent, with the crew being forced to halt the beverage service three times before finally giving it up. Just before landing the pilot warned of more turbulence.
