An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 caught fire after landing in Denver, prompting an emergency evacuation. Twelve people sustained minor injuries. The flight was diverted from Dallas due to engine vibrations. Boeing and GE declined to comment.

The engine of an American Airlines plane caught fire after landing in Denver, United States, on Thursday.

The Boeing 737-800 had already reached a gate when smoke began pouring out of one of its engines, prompting an emergency evacuation. Passengers and crew were forced to exit the aircraft using the plane's emergency slides.

According to a statement by Denver International Airport on X, twelve people sustained minor injuries and were transported to hospitals for treatment. Despite the incident, the airport reported that its operations remained normal.

The flight, which had 172 passengers and six crew members on board, was originally scheduled to land in Dallas. However, the crew detected engine vibrations mid-flight, leading to the aircraft being diverted to Denver, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed.

The FAA further reported that the engine caught fire while the plane was taxiing to the gate after landing.

American Airlines stated that the aircraft had landed safely and was moving toward the gate when it experienced an "engine-related issue." However, the airline did not specify exactly when the fire started.

Aaron Clark, a witness who had just arrived at the airport on another flight, described seeing "a flash of sudden fire, followed by a ton of smoke," in an interview with Reuters.

"The fire was very brief and seemed to be extinguished quickly by ground crews," Clark recalled. "The smoke continued for a while, and that’s when we saw people starting to exit from the rear slides."

According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the aircraft is 13 years old. It is powered by two CFM56 engines, which are manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran, Reuters reported.

Both Boeing and GE declined to comment on the incident.

The engine fire is the latest in a string of high-profile aviation incidents that have raised concerns about aviation safety in the United States.

In January, an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter were involved in a mid-air collision, resulting in the deaths of 67 people.