British Airways Boeing 777 catches fire on takeoff at Las Vegas airport

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A British Airways passenger jet lost an engine and caught fire at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport on Tuesday as it was about to lift off the runway.

ABC 11 in Las Vegas reported Tuesday the jet caught fire in the middle of the runway and everyone on board evacuated the Boeing 777-200 via the emergency slides.

No serious injuries were reported, but two people sustained minor injuries. Officials said 159 passengers and 13 flight crew were on board Flight 2276, which was headed for London's Gatwick airport.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said the plane's left engine failed and caught fire on takeoff. The pilots were able to abort the takeoff and bring the 777 to a stop.

The fire was extinguished by 4:30 p.m. local time, officials said, but the incident removed one runway from service.

A reporter for Britain's The Guardian was a passenger on the plane.

"Was asleep as the plane took off. Came to a crashing halt. Smell of smoke. Initially told to stay seated, then shout of evacuate," reporter Jacob Steinberg tweeted. "Could smell and see smoke but was on other side of plane. One person said fire melted a couple of windows."

The cause of the engine failure was not immediately known.