An engine on a passenger jet bound for Caracas burst into flames while taxiing for takeoff at a Florida airport on Thursday, forcing frightened passengers to exit the plane using inflatable emergency slides.

Fifteen people were injured, one seriously, as 101 passengers and crew evacuated the Dynamic International Airways' Boeing 767-200ER within minutes of the pilots realizing there was a problem.

Television images showed the plane surrounded by white foam and firefighters' trucks in Fort Lauderdale, its left engine badly charred.