Miraculous escape for 154 people in American Airlines plane crash

The Boeing 737, carrying 148 passengers and six crew members, was flying from Miami and crashed at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston around 10.22 pm local time last night after the plane overshot the runway.

The flight, which originated from Washington, had just arrived from Miami in pouring rain when the incident occurred, passengers on the plane told the local newspaper 'Jamaica Observer'.
According to reports, the plane, which originated at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. and made a stopover in Miami, overshot the runway when it landed in heavy rain.
Though 40 passengers were injured in the crash of the plane which arrived in Kingston from Miami, none of them was reported to be in critical condition
"Flight 331, the Boeing 737 aircraft, that was en route from Miami International Airport to Kingston in Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport overran the runway on landing," the American Airlines said in a statement.

It said preliminary reports indicate that there are no "serious injuries" to 154 people aboard -- 148 passengers and six crew members.
Local Jamaican media reported that the plane crashed and broke into two pieces as it overshot the runway around 10.22 p.m local time last night.
'Jamaica Observer' newspaper reported that 40 passengers were injured in the incident and rushed to hospital after the crash of the flight, which originated from Washington.

The American Airlines said it is "in direct contact with the officials of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and is cooperating fully with appropriate authorities."
However, it refrained from speculating on any possible cause of the accident at this point of time.

Though much detail of the incident was not immediately available, passengers on the plane told Jamaica Observer that the flight had just arrived from Miami in pouring rain when the incident occurred.

"The plane crashed and broke almost in front of me," a shaken Naomi Palmer, a passenger of the plane, was quoted as saying by the paper. She said she was feeling some pain and was being supported by a friend outside the arrival area at the airport.
"The injured passengers have been taken to the Kingston Public Hospital," Jamaican Information Minister Daryl Vaz was quoted as saying by the paper. "There are no reports of fatalities."

Vaz along with Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry and National Security Minister Dwight Nelson rushed to the scene and was engaged in determining if anyone from the plane was missing.