Air Canada Flight Carrying 137 Overshoots Runway In 'Hard Landing'; No Fatalities Reported

This story has been updated.

Update: 1:55 p.m. EDT: All but one of the passengers aboard flight AC624 has been released from the hospital, Air Canada said in a statement. The airline added the plane was "a very safe model," and its most recent checkup was Saturday, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

In a Sunday news conference, Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Klaus Goersch said the weather was safe for pilots to land. "It was safe to fly in this weather. The aircraft did circle for a period of time but when the approach was initiated, the weather was at the approach limits," Goersch said, according to The Canadian Press. "The weather was appropriate for landing."

Original story:

An Air Canada flight with 137 people on board made a rough landing at an airport in the eastern city of Halifax when the plane overshot the runway.

No fatalities have been reported, and at least 23 passengers have been taken to hospital for minor injuries. The jetliner, carrying 132 passengers and five crew members, was flying from Toronto to Halifax when the incident took place late Saturday.

The Airbus A320, flight numbering AC624, made a hard landing on the runway following which it rammed a power line and then eventually skidded to a halt. Power supply was knocked off at the airport after the incident.

"It was a hard landing, and the aircraft left the runway. It is off the runway now," said Peter Spurway, a spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

All flights to and from the airport have been suspended and the airfield has been shut down.

"We just hit hard and things broke up. Just before we hit there was a big ball of light. It hit like a hard landing and we bounced and we skidded," Gordon Murray, one of the passengers, was quoted as saying.

An investigation has been initiated into the matter. Reports suggest the visibility was poor when the plane attempted to land accompanied by heavy snowfall.