Montpellier: a cargo plane leaves the runway and ends up in a pond

L’Montpellier airport has been closed for an indefinite period, a freight plane having left the runway during the night during its landing, without causing any injuries, the Hérault prefecture announced on Saturday. As France 3 points out, the accident occurred shortly before 3 a.m. when a storm hit the area. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 airmail freighter carrying freight, came off the runway in the middle of the landing phase. It ended its race in the Etang de l’Or, located in the town of Mauguio.

As can be seen in images published by the specialized media Air plus news, the front part of the plane was still submerged on Saturday morning. Three people were on board at the time of the incident. In a press release, the Hérault prefecture indicates that “the three people present in the device are unscathed” and that they “could be extricated and brought to safety thanks to the rapid intervention of the emergency services”.

No landing for several hours

“As a security measure and while waiting for a specialized company to move the aircraft, commercial and freight flights” can no longer land in Montpellier for an indefinite period, adds the press release. According to Air plus news, this measure will be applied at least until 4 p.m. on September 24. Sixty firefighters from the Hérault departmental fire and rescue service, including water rescue specialists, were dispatched to the scene with a team from Samu, the air transport gendarmerie brigade and teams from the airport.

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Still according to France 3, four investigators from the Investigations and Analysis Bureau (BEA) arrived on the scene in the morning to collect the first elements in order to determine the circumstances of the incident, which fortunately did not cause any casualties.