US Edition 
Denver plane crash: 'Miracle' no one died
It was a miracle that no one was killed when an airliner veered sharply off a runway during takeoff, burst into flames and nearly broke apart, rescuers have said.
At least 58 people were injured in the a plane crash in Denver which firemen compared to a scene from a disaster film.
The Continental Airlines Boeing 737 went off the runway during takeoff from Denver International Airport in Colorado, plunging into a ravine and shearing off its landing gear and left engine.
The entire right side of the plane was burned, and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats. Investigators said the plane's left engine was ripped away along with all the landing gear.
"It was a miracle ... that everybody survived the impact and the fire," said Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport. "It was just amazing."
Mr Davis said the plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport's four fire stations.
Rescue crews arrived at the plane some 2,000 feet from the end of the runway to find what Patrick Hynes, the Denver Fire Department division chief, described as a "surreal scene".
The fuselage was partially buckled and debris was strewn along the runway.
As smoke filled the ravine, the 100 passengers and five crew left the plane on emergency slides.
There were no fatalities but some passengers suffered broken bones and two were in critical condition with fractures following the accident on Saturday evening.
Mike Wilson, a passenger, described the chaos on messages posted to the internet site Twitter.com on his cell phone.
"By the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window," he wrote.
"I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. Once out, I scrambled down the wing."
Gabriel Trejos told KUSA-TV in Denver that the plane buckled toward its middle and that the seats felt like they were closing in on him, his pregnant wife and his 13-month-old son, who was on his lap. His knees were bruised from the seat in front of him.
Maria Trejos told KUSA that there was an explosion and that the right side of the plane, where they were sitting, became engulfed in flames. The family used an emergency exit and slid down the wing of the jet to the ground.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the crash. Local weather was cold but snowy at the time.
In November 1987, another Confinental flight crashed in bad weather at Stapleton Airport, Denver's former main airport, killing 28 of its 73 passengers.