Two pilots dead after plane and ground vehicle collide at LaGuardia

Two pilots have died after an Air Canada plane carrying dozens of people collided with a firefighting vehicle responding to a separate incident at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Forty-one people were taken to hospital, Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia confirmed. Thirty-two of them were later discharged but others had serious injuries, she said.

LaGuardia Airport would remain closed until at least 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Monday, Garcia said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described it as a "tragic collision" and said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating Sunday's incident.

"I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives."

At about 23:40 local time on Sunday (03:40 GMT Monday), shortly after Air Canada Flight 8646 had landed from Montreal, it collided with a firefighting vehicle on the tarmac.

The fire engine from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was responding to a United Airlines aircraft that had "reported an issue with odour", Garcia said during a news briefing.

Video footage on social media showed the aircraft, which is operated by Air Canada's regional partner Jazz Aviation, coming to a rest with its nose upturned.

Eyewitness Leo Medina, 23, told the BBC: "We were literally like 100 meters away. It was like the plane got cut in half."

In audio from the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia, a staff member can be heard saying: "'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" in the seconds before the crash.

The aircraft – a CRJ 900 model, carrying 72 passengers and four crew members – suffered significant damage.

All on board the plane have been accounted for, Garcia said, while adding that the sergeant and police officer who were inside the firefighting vehicle were in a stable condition in hospital "with no life-threatening injuries".

"I visited them both in the hospital, as has the chairman, and they were able to speak and we're notifying their families," said Garcia.

All arrivals and departures from the airport have been cancelled or delayed until further notice.

Hundreds of flights are affected, with carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada.

As of 08:00 local time at Terminal B, from where Air Canada operates, a board showed every departing flight for Monday morning, bar one, had been cancelled. Confused passengers were huddled on benches or sleeping on the floor. Many had small children with them.

Some people were on their phones trying to sort out their travel plans. Others were waiting in the hope the airport opens again.

Earlier, LaGuardia Airport authorities released a statement stating that "emergency response protocols were immediately activated" after the crash, with the agency's chairman and executive director on the scene with Port Authority police.

The New York City Police Department said people should "expect delays and avoid the area if possible".

"Due to an emergency incident at LaGuardia Airport, all streets and highway exits into the airport are closed until further notice."

The New York City Fire Department told people to "expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near LaGuardia Airport".

"Use alternate routes," it posted on X.