40 injured after plane veers off runway

HOUSTON: At least 40 passengers on Houston bound Continental Airlines flight were injured when the jet went off the runway and caught fire, forcing passengers to evacuate on the plane on emergency slides, aviation officials said.
    
Denver International Airport manager of aviation Kim Day said no deaths were reported and no one was in critical condition but 38 people were taken to hospitals.
    
The weather in Denver was cold but not snowy when Continental Flight 1404 took off from Denver International Airport for Houston around 6:20 pm.
    
It veered off its course about 609 meters from the the runway and caught fire, aviation sources said.
    
A fire associated with the accident burned the entire right side of the plane, a media report quoted Denver Fire Department Division Chief Patrick Hynes as saying.
    
The reason of the fire was although unknown but the airlines company is in the process of collecting information, which will be communicated subsequently.
     
Ground crews put out the flames quickly, said airport officials.
    
"The care of our passengers, crew and family members is our highest priority and they will receive any assistance necessary," said Larry Kellner, Continental Airlines' chairman and chief executive officer.
    
The jet was carrying 107 passengers and five crew members, said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clarka. They made it out through the emergency slides.
    
The accident closed the airport's west airfield and caused a delay of 40 minutes, he added.