A Caribbean Airlines jet from New York touched down on rainy runway, then slid through a chain-link fence and broke apart just short of a ravine on Saturday in Guyana. Miraculously there were no immediate reports of death among the 163 people aboard, despite several dozen of injuries.
Passengers aboard Flight 523 said they had begun to applaud the pilot's landing in the South American country when suddenly things went wrong.
The Boeing 737-800 apparently overshot the 7,400-foot (2,200-meter) runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport and barely missed a 200-foot (60-meter) ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo, who came to the crash site before dawn.
"We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured," he said.
About 100 people received medical attention, with four hospitalized for serious injuries, said Devant Maharaj, transportation minister in Trinidad, where Caribbean Airlines is based.
Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, who said passengers had just started to applaud the touchdown "when it turned to screams," she said. She hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence, apparently suffering only bruised knees.
Nobody had yet showed up to rescue her, "but a taxi driver appeared from nowhere and charged me $20 to take me to the terminal. I had to pay, but in times of emergencies, you don't charge people for a ride," she said, sitting on a chair in the arrival area surrounded by relatives. She was returning to her native country for only the second time in 30 years.
Passengers aboard Flight 523 said they had begun to applaud the pilot's landing in the South American country when suddenly things went wrong.
The Boeing 737-800 apparently overshot the 7,400-foot (2,200-meter) runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport and barely missed a 200-foot (60-meter) ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo, who came to the crash site before dawn.
"We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured," he said.
About 100 people received medical attention, with four hospitalized for serious injuries, said Devant Maharaj, transportation minister in Trinidad, where Caribbean Airlines is based.
Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, who said passengers had just started to applaud the touchdown "when it turned to screams," she said. She hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence, apparently suffering only bruised knees.
Nobody had yet showed up to rescue her, "but a taxi driver appeared from nowhere and charged me $20 to take me to the terminal. I had to pay, but in times of emergencies, you don't charge people for a ride," she said, sitting on a chair in the arrival area surrounded by relatives. She was returning to her native country for only the second time in 30 years.