The campaign plane carrying Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence has gone off the runway while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, officials and witnesses say. There were no reports of injuries.
The incident happened at about 7:45 p.m. ET on Thursday when the aircraft, a Boeing 737, went off the runway while landing at LaGuardia Airport. A total of 48 people were on board the aircraft, including Governor Pence and a number of journalists.
Photos from the scene showed that the aircraft left the runway and ran into grass close to the runway. There were no visual signs of serious damage to the aircraft, though the runway itself appeared to have been damaged.
A large number of emergency services rushed to the scene, but Governor Pence is safe and no one else on board the aircraft was injured. “So thankful everyone on our plane is safe. Grateful for our first responders and the concern and prayers of so many,” Pence said on his Twitter account.
As a result of the incident, LaGuardia Airport was closed, but one of its runways later reopened.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called Governor Pence within minutes of the accident and expressed relief that no one was hurt. Pence himself was seen speaking with rescue workers who responded to the scene before leaving the airport.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to launch an investigation.
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