(Amsterdam) A person died Wednesday after being caught by the rotating turbine blades of a departing airliner at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, authorities said.
The death occurred on the apron outside the busy hub’s terminal, as a KLM flight was ready to take off for Billund, Denmark.
“An accident occurred today at Schiphol in which a person fell into a running aircraft engine,” Dutch airline KLM said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the person died,” KLM added, without revealing the identity of the victim.
The passengers were evacuated from the plane and an investigation was launched, according to the Dutch Border Police, which is responsible for security at the Netherlands’ largest airport.
The plane in question is a short-haul Embraer, used by KLM’s Cityhopper service which operates flights to other nearby destinations such as London, Dutch media reported.
A photo published by public broadcaster NOS shows the plane surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances near the departure terminals.
Security measures are strict at Schiphol and accidents are rare at the busy airport, which handled around 5.5 million passengers last month alone, according to airport figures.