LATAM airlines plane collides with truck on runway during takeoff in Peru; 2 dead

A LATAM Airlines passenger aircraft collided with a fire truck while the former was speeding along the runway for takeoff on the runway of South American country Peru's Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima on Friday. This incident resulted in two firefighters' deaths while one person suffered injuries. According to the airlines, no passengers or flight crew members were killed in the incident.

"We regret to confirm that the flight LA2213 that covered the Lima - Juliaca route, operated by LATAM Airlines Peru suffered an accident on the ground. There are no passengers or crew members deceased," LATAM Peru said in a statement.

The video of the collision between the Airbus A320neo aircraft and the fire truck has gone viral on social media. In the video clip, the passenger aircraft can be seen colliding with the fire truck coming from the opposite side as it careened down the runway. Soon after the accident, the LATAM plane caught fire with thick black smoke coming out from it. The plane was grounded as emergency services rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation.

The fire was doused and all the people onboard were evacuated safely. One of the passengers-- Enrique Varsi-Rospigliosi shared a photo of himself covered in foam alongside a woman with the aircraft that firefighters doused in the background. "When life gives you a second chance," he tweeted.

Lima Airport Partners (LAP), which operates Jorge Chavez airport in Lima confirmed the death of two fire department personnel in the tragic incident. In the statement released by LAP, it said, "At this time we are carrying out all the necessary investigations to determine the causes of this fact." It further added that operations at the airport will remain closed till 01:00 PM Saturday.