LONDON, England (CNN) -- An emergency operation is under way at London's Heathrow Airport after an inbound passenger jet landed short of the runway on Thursday.
British Airways confirmed its flight BA38 from Beijing, China, was involved in the incident, the UK's Press Association reported.
Images showed the Boeing 777 grounded on tarmac several hundred meters short of the airport's south runway, close to a perimeter road, with its emergency chutes deployed. The undercarriage and right engine of the aircraft appeared severely damaged, as if the plane had had to slide across the ground.
A spokesman for Heathrow said the flight had carried out an emergency landing at 12.42pm GMT.
"Passengers have been evacuated and there are currently no reported injuries. The Heathrow southern runway has been closed, but the northern runway remains open," he said.
The incident occured as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due to leave Heathrow for a visit to China and India. His flight was delayed but his jet was not directly involved, PA said.