CONAKRY – A Mauritanian passenger jet with 97 people on board overshot the runway as it landed at Guinea’s main airport Wednesday, slightly injuring 10 people, airport officials said.

The accident involving a Mauritanian Airways Boeing 737-700 at Conakry airport happened in the early hours of the morning, they said.

“There are 10 people slightly injured, all taken to two hospitals in Conakry,” the airport management said, updating an earlier toll of two injured.

“The plane landed in the middle of the runway at around 1:30 am (0130 GMT)” before it overshot the tarmac, an airport source said.

Passengers were evacuated by emergency services. The jet came to rest in scrubland beyond the runway and was still there several hours after the incident.

The plane was on a flight from the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott via Dakar in Senegal.

Guinean Prime Minister Jean-Marie Dore and Transport Minister Mathurin Bangoura visited the scene of the accident on Wednesday.

“It is a catastrophe and at this stage it is difficult to say how it happened. Everything will be done to help the passengers and to find the cause of this accident,” Dore told reporters.

Mauritania Airways is 51 percent owned by Tunisair, with the rest held by the Mauritanian state and private investors.

Source: business.maktoob.com