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Cargo plane crashes at Juan Santamaría Airport in Costa Rica

A cargo aircraft crashed this Thursday morning after landing at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in. The DHL flight JOS7216 departed Costa Rica for Guatemala, but had to return to the air terminal due to hydraulic problems.

The firefighters reported that there were to passengers aboard the plane and, thankfully, none of them were injured in the accident. However, they being evaluated and examined by the first responders who rushed to the scene, as prevention.

Aircraft Boeing 757-27A, took off from the airport at 9:34 a.m., however, while flying over the San Carlos area, it reported an emergency and requested to return to Juan Santamaría Airport.

The emergency occurred at 10:33am and immediately an A4 alert (airplane crash) was emitted by the airport’s staff.

Instantly, rescue units from the Juan Santamaría and the Fire Department rushed to the scene to take care of the emergency.

Josué Lara, Spokesman of the Fire Department press spokesman of Costa Rica’s Fire Department informed that the aircraft, which was transporting cargo material, reported in the air that it had hydraulic problems. The units attending the emergency are the Fire Stations from the Alajuela, Heredia and San José.

“A few minutes ago, it landed with two people on board, crashing inside the airport. Immediately the airport units were activated, as well as the Alajuela, Heredia and San José stations”, confirmed the Fire Department.

Firefighters sent at least seven units to the site, including two tanker units, a foam unit, two extinguishing units and a rescue unit.

Moreover, they mentioned the aircraft was carrying hazardous material, but for now, there are no additional details on the objects.  

According to the videos recorded and witnesses, when the plane made an emergency landing, it went off the runway and broke in half. After de crash, the plane suffered the detachment of its rear part.

The airport and the air terminal will remain closed until further notice.

The normal air traffic of the Juan Santamaría Airport will be greatly disrupted: the accident will cause some flights to be delayed and will impede incoming flights from other countries from landing for a few hours.

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