BOGOTA: Nine people were injured when a Colombian plane with 54 people on board skidded off the runway on landing and ended up nose-first in the sea in the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta, civil aviation authorities have said.

The Aerorepublica airliner broke through the fence at the end of the runway at Simon Bolivar airport after landing in driving rain, Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Nine people were slightly injured in the accident on Tuesday, it added.

The airliner was evacuated via emergency chutes at the front of the plane, witnesses told local media.

One of the passengers, Antonio Jose Valencia, said that the accident happened on the second landing attempt, when the plane touched down mid-way.

"The runway was wet, and with all that wind the plane could not stop and went straight before turning on its side with its nose ending up in the water," he added.

The plane, an Embraer 190 with a crew of five, took off earlier from Cali, 500 kilometres southeast of Bogota. Santa Marta is located 950 kilometres north of Bogota.

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