Jet From JFK Crashes In Guyana; No Deaths

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A jet that took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday crashed and broke in two early Saturday morning while trying to land in Guyana with 163 people on board.

No one was killed but several people were injured when the Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-800 apparently overshot the 7,400-foot runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in rainy weather, barely missing a 200-foot ravine.

Officials were starting to probe the cause of the crash even as they marveled at the lack of fatalities.

"We must be the luckiest country and luckiest set of people in the world to escape so lightly,'' said Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy, who said more than 30 people were taken to the hospital. Only three of those had to be admitted for a broken leg, bumps, cuts and bruises.

George Nicholas, Caribbean Airlines chairman, told reporters that officials with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to arrive Sunday in Guyana to take over the investigation.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)