A Continental 737 aircraft taking off from Denver yesterday either slid or crashed, according to reports, into a ravine off the runway before catching fire, injuring nearly 40 people.
The Associated Press is reporting that the 107 passengers on board the Houston-bound flight were evacuated via emergency slides. Thirty-seven were rushed to area hospitals with a variety of injuries, none of which are being reported as life-threatening.
There were no deaths in the incident.
Emergency responders on the ground put out the fire quickly.
Authorities are not saying what caused the botched take-off, though a National Transportation Safety Board team is reportedly heading to Denver to investigate the incident.
All Continental Airlines says is the aircraft “exited” the runway prior to take-off. There are conflicting reports that the plane actually had taken off before crashing into the ravine.
The incident shut a part of Denver International down for approximately 45 minutes.