A Continental Airlines jet taking off from Denver went off the runway and caught fire Saturday night, forcing passengers to evacuate on emergency slides and injuring nearly 40 people, officials said.
No deaths were reported, but 38 people were taken to hospitals, said Kim Day, Denver International Airport manager of aviation. No one was reported in critical condition.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known.The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy when Continental Flight 1404 took off from Denver International Airport for Houston around 6:20 p.m.
Ground crews put out the flames quickly, said airport spokesman Jeff Green. The 112 people on board the Boeing 737 made it out of the plane through slides.
The plane was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members, said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark.
Denver Health spokeswoman Kalena Wilkinson said seven people were taken to her hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Five people were in fair condition at the University of Colorado hospital, a spokeswoman said.
The accident closed the airport's west airfield and caused delays of 40 minutes, Day said.