British Airways plane catches fire at Las Vegas airport; 13 injured

A British Airways flight caught fire on the runway at the Las Vegas airport Tuesday, sending 13 people to local hospitals for treatment.

A majority of the injuries came as passengers slid down the inflatable chutes to evacuate the Boeing 777, Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Jon Klassen said.

The incident  according to Las vegas (CNN) occurred shortly after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) and involved British Airways Flight 2276, which was bound for London's Gatwick Airport, according to the McCarran International Airport's Twitter feed.

Passenger Jay Jennings, who was one of the injured, said it was "pretty scary stuff."

The plane was getting ready to take off, he said, when he heard a big thud. He lifted the window shade and saw the trouble.

"Just saw flames on the engine," he said.

The plane stopped and sat for what felt like a minute, he said. Then the captain came on the intercom and told the passengers there was an emergency and they needed to evacuate.

When one of the emergency doors opened, smoke poured in. "Not safe, not safe," someone said, Jennings recalled.

Flight attendants directed passengers to safety, he said.

Jacob Steinberg was also on board.

"A few have cuts and bruises from the slide down. They've been bandaged up," he said on Twitter. "One young woman was taken away by paramedics, but looked OK."

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft's left engine caught fire, prompting the crew to abort the takeoff.