Airplane skids off runway in Senegal's Blaise Diagne airport, injures 11

A plane with 78 passengers skidded off a runway before takeoff at Senegal's main airport on Tuesday, injuring 11 people and bringing the facility to a halt.

The Blaise Diagne airport said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident, which occurred at around 0100 GMT as the Transair-owned Boeing 737-300 chartered by Air Senegal was preparing to fly to Mali.

A night-time video shared on social media showed a plane with the logo of Senegal-based airline Transair standing in grass with a wing covered in fire-suppressing foam.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the video.

The airport statement said it activated emergency protocols to evacuate passengers.

"For now, the airport is closed... The reopening of the airport is expected within the next few hours," it added.