ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – All four persons, including the pilot, on board a twin-engine Cessna aircraft escaped injuries on Wednesday after the plane veered off the runaway at the Lauriston airport in Carriacou, according to an official statement issued here.

It said that the private Cessna 421 flying from Piarco International Airport in Trinidad veered of “Runway 27 after landing” and that “initial reports indicate that the aircraft stopped about 120 feet east of the end of the runway”.

The statement said that medical officials as well as the Lauriston Fire department “provided the necessary support in accordance with the airport’s emergency protocols.

“All four persons on board, the crew and one passenger, were evacuated from the aircraft and safely transported to the Princess Royal Hospital for observation. No injuries were reported and they have all been discharged,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

It said that the aircraft sustained “substantial airframe damage” and that the airport ‘is currently closed pending the arrival of the inspectors from the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) to conduct their investigations into the accident”.

The statement said that the Grenada Airports Authority is also cooperating with the WCCAA to ensure “that the process is conducted smoothly and to facilitate the re-opening of the airport in the shortest possible time”.

Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands located in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of Grenada. It forms part of the tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. (CMC)