An Air France jet with almost 300 people on board skidded off a runway at Canada's biggest airport and caught fire. The Airbus A-340 was coming into land in Toronto after a flight from Paris. Reports say there are no fatalities, though 14 passengers are reported to have sustained minor injuries.
The incident happened just after four pm in the afternoon local time. Air France Flight 358 was arriving at Toronto's Pearson International Airport from Paris. According to rescue officials, the plane skidded off the runway in bad weather, stopping just short of the 401 Freeway, the busiest roadway in Canada.
The A-340 eventually came to rest and caught fire in a wooded ravine at the end of the runway. The main fuselage tipped down, raising the tail of the plane into the air.
All the passengers and crew evacuated the plane safely moments before it caught fire.
An airport official says the plane overshot the runway by 200 meters. The weather at the time of the accident was reported to be dark, rainy and windy. The conditions delayed several other flights arriving and leaving the airport prior to the accident.
Flights at the airport are now delayed because of the crash. It also has severely altered traffic near the airport, as commuters stopped along the neighboring freeway to look at the dramatic scene.
