Passengers escape after plane skids off runway into river in Jacksonville, Florida

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – All 143 passengers and crew have escaped with their lives after a Boeing 737 plane skidded off a runway and landed in a river during a “terrifying” attempted landing at an airport in Jacksonville, Florida.

The military-chartered Miami Air International plane was trying to land in a thunderstorm at the naval air station in Jacksonville en route from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba at around 9.40pm local time when it slid off the runway into the St Johns river, a statement from the navy airport said.

Officials said the 136 passengers and seven crew were alive and accounted for after the plane ditched in shallow water.

Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals for minor injuries but were in good condition.