A person has been killed after ending up in the running jet engine of a KLM passenger plane at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

The death happened as the KL1341 flight was getting ready to fly to Billund, Denmark, on Wednesday afternoon.

The airline said it was taking care of passengers and employees who witnessed the incident and it was investigating.

Netherland's military police also said it had started an investigation.

Royal Netherlands Marechaussee force added in a post on X that all passengers and employees had been removed from the flight.

The deceased has not yet been identified and it is too early to say whether it was an accident or a form of suicide, a spokesperson told Reuters new agency.

Various Dutch media outlets have suggested the victim could be an employee involved in pushing back an airplane before it takes off.

Pictures obtained by Dutch national broadcaster NOS show emergency services surrounding the passenger jet on the airport's apron – where aircraft are parked.

According to reports, the aircraft involved was a short-haul Embraer jet used by KLM's Cityhopper service operating flights between nearby destinations within Europe.

Schiphol airport said: "Our thoughts go out to the [deceased's] relatives and we care for the passengers and colleagues who saw this."

Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers said on X: "Terrible news about a fatal accident today at Schiphol."

Schiphol is one of Europe’s busiest hub airports. It made headlines last week when rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested there.

Almost 5.5 million passengers used the airport last month, according to its website.

Last year a 27-year-old airport employee died after being sucked into a Delta passenger plane engine in San Antonio, Texas. (Text, excluding headline: BBC)

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