'Engine's on fire!' - Passengers flee as jet bursts into flames

The Dynamic Airways plane was engulfed in thick black smoke and flames. Photo / AFP

A plane caught fire at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida airport, sending passengers fleeing for their lives out of the aircraft's emergency slides.

Photos and video from the scene show the Dynamic Airways plane engulfed in thick black smoke and flames before airport firefighters came and extinguished the fire with a white foam. The fire has since been completely extinguished and everyone safely taken off the plane.

Broward County fire officials say fourteen people were injured, with the worst injury being a burn. Two others had less serious injuries and the rest were classified as minor.

At least 10 people have been transported to the hospital so far, and that number includes passengers and crew. The uninjured were placed on buses and taken back to a terminal.

"I'm told one of the engines caught fire as the plane was taxiing, getting ready for departure," airport spokesman Greg Meyer told WSVN.

A pilot taxiing behind the plane alerted air traffic control that the plane was leaking fuel right before it caught fire.

Air traffic control was heard saying: "There's fuel leaking out of the left engine", before adding: "Engine's on fire! Engine's on fire!"

The plane was on its way to Caracas, Venezuela, and charring on the aircraft suggests the fire started in the left engine.

Following the fire, the airport closed and flights were being diverted to other airports nearby.

The FAA released a statement saying: "Dynamic International Airways 405 apparently caught fire on Taxiway B while taxiing for departure from Runway 28 Right at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, at about 12:45 p.m. An aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway."

- Daily Mail