Two die in Peru as plane crashes with fire engine during take off

Two people died when a plane crashed with a fire engine during take off at Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport on Friday.

LATAM flight LA 2213, which was bound for the city of Juliaca in southern Peru, "collided with a fire engine that entered the runway during take-off at Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport," the Latin American airline said in a statement, adding that there were "no fatalities among the 102 passengers and six crew members."

Lima Airport Partners, which operates Jorge Chávez International Airport, said that two firefighters who were on the truck that collided with the plane in the crash. Their deaths were also confirmed by Peruvian authorities.

All passengers and crew were taken to health centres as a precaution, the airline said.

"LATAM Airlines Peru is deploying all its resources to attend to those affected. At the same time, it is working in coordination with authorities to support the investigation into the event," the airline added in a later tweet.

Lima Airport Partners said that the airport would remain closed until about 1pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday, advising passengers who were due to depart from Jorge Chávez to get in touch with their airlines for updates.