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Washington (AP) - Massive aircraft parts crashed into residential areas not far from the US city of Denver in the state of Colorado after the failure of an engine.
The plane landed safely at Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon (local time).
There were initially no reports of injuries - neither on board nor on the ground.
"I'm honestly shocked," said Broomfield police spokeswoman Rachel Welte.
It is "astonishing" that, according to initial findings, no one was injured by debris in the place.
According to the Maastricht police, two people were injured in a similar incident in the Netherlands.
According to the FAA, the right engine of United Airlines' Boeing 777 failed shortly after takeoff.
The 231 passengers and ten crew members were en route to the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu.
What led to the engine failure was initially unclear.
The incident is being investigated, the FAA said.
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A large piece of debris fell into the front yard of a house, other parts of the aircraft landed on a sports field.
Police spokeswoman Welte reported that the people were mainly startled by the noise.
"A lot of people said they heard this really loud explosion that scared a lot of people, and then they saw what they thought was an airplane falling from the sky, but it was debris."
It sounded like the sound barrier had been breached, eyewitness Kieran Cain told CNN.
Everyone looked up.
A "gigantic" cloud of black smoke could be seen in the sky and immediately afterwards the falling parts of the aircraft.
"Practically a shiver of pieces falling from the sky," said Cain.
A video of the plane landing in Denver spread on Twitter - the passengers cheer and clap.
There were also videos that showed a burning engine.
The videos could not be independently verified.
The news channel CNN played a recording of the dramatic moment in which the pilot of the plane released the distress signal “Mayday”.
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There were similar reports from the Netherlands on the same day.
According to the police in Maastricht, two people were injured there by falling parts of the plane.
An elderly woman was hit in the head and had to be hospitalized.
A child was also reportedly slightly injured and burned when trying to pick up debris from the floor.
According to the Maastricht police, a fire broke out in one of the four engines of the machine.
The authorities are investigating the incident.
The plane later landed in Liège, Belgium.
It was actually en route from Maastricht Aachen Airport to New York.
There was no evidence that the events in the Netherlands and the United States were related.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210221-99-526869 / 2
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Tweet Broomfield Police
Notice from Maastricht Airport
Notice from the police
Tweet with video of the landing