Plane catches fire in Peru, no serious injuries reported

A Boeing jet operated by Peruvian Airlines caught fire on Tuesday while landing at an airport near the Andean town of Jauja in central Peru after it swerved on the runway, but there were no serious injuries, a government minister said.

Peruvian Airlines said in a statement that the Boeing 737-300 jet drove off the runway for unspecified reasons during the scheduled landing, after swerving to the right. It said that all 141 people on board the flight, which originated in Lima, were evacuated safely.

Authorities are investigating the incident, which occurred about 4:30 p.m., involving the Boeing 737-300 jet at the high-altitude airport in an agricultural valley some 265 kilometres from Lima, the capital.

The fire likely started when the wing scraped the runway, Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio said.

"The plane couldn't stop on the runway and they made a manoeuvre to stop it with the wing and that appears to have caused the fire," Basombrio told reporters on local broadcaster RPP.

Television images showed a large cloud of black smoke streaming from an airliner in flames.

Boeing said it was aware of the reports of the incident and was gathering information.