Steph Deschamps / May 11, 2024
Eleven people were injured on Thursday, four of them seriously, when a Boeing chartered by Air Sénégal ran off the runway during takeoff, an incident that led to the closure of Diass international airport, near Dakar, the manager announced.
The B737/300 aircraft, chartered from a private airline, Transair, bound for Bamako, "overran the runway during its takeoff phase on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at around 01:00", said the communications department of the airport management group in a statement. The incident resulted in "eleven injuries, four of them serious" among the 78 passengers, says the manager, who adds that the airport is "closed for the time being until the planned arrangements have been made". Six other passengers were admitted for observation in the airport's medical services, according to the same source.
"The reopening of the airport will be announced within the next few hours", added the LAS management group, made up of a trio including the Turks from Limak, the state-owned Aéroport International Blaise Diagne de Diass (AIBD) and the Turks from Summa.
The aircraft "came to rest" off the runway, explains LAS in the press release. "The emergency plan was activated by the airport authorities as soon as the information was communicated to them. All the airport's emergency services were mobilized to evacuate the passengers and take care of them as planned ».