Five dead in Amazon cargo plane accident at Miami airport

At least five people were killed in an accident involving an Amazon cargo plane at Miami Airport in the US state of Florida.

Five others were injured and taken to hospital, officials and police said at a press conference.

The plane overshot the runway on Sunday afternoon (local time) and caught fire. According to the fire department, the machine rammed several vehicles. Initially there was no more precise information about the fatalities - so it remained unclear whether crew members of the aircraft or people on the ground were affected.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Platform X that the Boeing 767-300 aircraft overshot the runway after landing at Miami International Airport. The plane took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico.

Miami airport temporarily suspended air traffic, it announced on X. The Florida region is very popular with tourists. It was later said that a runway was open, but passengers should also contact their respective airline for information. This weekend, many Americans will be traveling due to a holiday on Monday. Miami is one of the largest commercial airports in the USA.

The machine was traveling on behalf of the online retailer Amazon. An Amazon spokeswoman wrote on Platform X that there had been an incident during the landing attempt. They are working closely with the authorities to understand what exactly happened.

Amazon has its own cargo airline to transport packages over long distances faster. It remained unclear whether the plane was loaded. According to Amazon, the flight took place via a partner airline.