8:28am UK, Wednesday December 23, 2009

Neal Walker, Sky News Online

An American Airlines Boeing 737 has overshot a runway and broken apart while landing in heavy rain in Jamaica.

An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 similar to the one that crashed in Jamaica

Reports suggest the jet ploughed through the perimeter fence at Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, skidded across a road and came to rest on a beachfront.

At least 40 people were taken to hospital, the country’s information minister told the Jamaica Observer.

“The injured passengers have been taken to Kingston Public Hospital,” Daryl Vaz told the paper.

“There are no reports of fatalities.”

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said: “Preliminary reports indicate there are no serious injuries.”

Mr Smith said the airline would not speculate on the cause of the incident.

The plane was carrying 148 passengers and six crew members.

It originated at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, and had stopped at Miami en route to Kingston.

American Airlines is working with US authorities to determine the cause of the crash.

The airport was closed for investigators to examine the scene and decide if the runway was safe.

All flights were diverted to Montego Bay, on the western end of the island.