Crew Safe After B-52 Bomber Crashes at Air Base in Guam

— -- All seven aircrew members are safe after a B-52 bomber crashed on the runway at an air base in Guam today. The bomber was preparing to take off when it caught on fire and the crew was able to escape the aircraft after the takeoff was aborted.

"A B-52H Stratofortress preparing to take off for a Continuous Bomber Presence mission aborted on take-off and caught fire at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time on the Andersen AFB flight line," a statement released by the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam reads. "All seven aircrew members have safely egressed the aircraft. No injuries have been reported. Emergency responders are on scene."

An earlier statement explained, "The B-52 was deployed to Andersen AFB from Minot, North Dakota, as part of the DoD's continuous bomber presence mission in the Pacific. The aircrew are members from the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and were performing a routine training mission."

The incident is under investigation and measures to mitigate possible environmental impacts are being taken.

Images and video posted on social media show large plumes of smoke emanating from the wreckage of the plane's fuselage located on the flight line.

Before the incident there were six B-52 Stratofortresses assigned to Andersen AFB as part of the rotational Continuous Bomber Presence.