Southwest Airlines EMERGENCY: Jet engine EXPLODES forcing urgent landing – injuries feared

Emergency services have scrambled to scene after Southwest Flight 1380 landed in Philadelphia following the aircraft’s take-off New York City’s LaGuardia Airport an hour earlier.

The airline on route to Dallas, Texas before disaster struck.

Pictures shared on social media show the engine ripped to shreds as passengers disembarked from the aircraft.

Additional photos show oxygen masks were deploy and what appears to be a damaged window over the plane wing were the engine caught fire.

Passenger Marty Martinez live-streamed the incident on Facebook as he put on an oxygen mask.

Before the footage cut off, Mr Martinez wrote: “Something is wrong with our plane! It appears we are going down! Emergency landing!! Southwest flight from NYC to Dallas!!”

One person is understood to have been taken to nearby Penn Presbyterian Medical Centre hospital but other injuries are yet to be confirmed.

Southwest said in a statement, “The aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, has 143 customers and five crew members onboard.

“We are in the process of gathering more information. Safety is always our top priority at Southwest Airlines, and we are working diligently to support our customers and crews at this time.”

The National Transportation Safety Board also said it is gathering information.

The news comes after Airline flight 3461 was forced to make an emergency re-fuel landing in Panama City, Florida following a severe weather scare on Saturday.

Passengers on board were screaming, vomiting, crying and sending farewells to loved ones as they believed the worst was happening.

The terrifying incident took place on Saturday night as the scheduled flight took off from Fort Lauderdale heading to New Orleans.

The pilot struggled to land the plane as the aircraft started to sway from side to side as it approached the airport, WWL-TV reported.

One passenger, Marie Wary said: “It felt like I was about to lift off. I felt like I was done.

“I felt like I was about to see baby Jesus and Papa God.”

Another passenger added: “We came through the clouds and the plane was just tilting back and forth. It was going all over the place. People were screaming, people were crying.”

More to follow.

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