More than 300 passengers and crew had a miraculous escape when an Air France Airbus skidded off the runway and burst into flames as it landed at Toronto during a thunderstorm.

All 309 people aboard escaped without serious injury after jumping out of the airplane or sliding down emergency chutes as it came to rest in a wooded ravine.

Canada's Transport Minister hailed their survival as "nothing short of a miracle", and suggested that the aircraft may have landed a little late and overshot the runway.

Air France flight 358 from Paris to Toronto touched down at its second attempt in a heavy thunderstorm at Pearson International airport, at 4 pm. After appearing to have arrived safely despite the storm, many passengers burst into a spontaneous round of applause.

But their cheers were quickly interrupted when the huge Airbus 340 slid off the end of the runway, and cracked into pieces as it fell into the ravine next to a busy motorway. The tail caught fire.

As the cabin filled with smoke, the crew threw open the doors and passengers, including seven Britons, rushed out of the aircraft down its emergency chutes and out of holes in the fuselage. All 297 passengers and 12 members of the Air France crew managed to escape before the aircraft was enveloped in flames.

The passengers then ran through the mud and rain back to the airport and on to the motorway, where they flagged down passing cars. Families were reunited in the airport's Sheraton Hotel after the crash survivors had been herded, draped in emergency blankets, through customs.

"I would say this is nothing short of a miracle," said Jean Lapierre, the minister. "I mean having almost 300 people, more than 300 people, come out of the plane before... it went on fire was a miracle."

Canadian authorities announced a complete investigation into all the circumstances of the crash, but Mr Lapierre told the Globe and Mail newspaper: "We are told that the plane probably landed a little late, and that’s why it’s off 200 metres from the runway."

Other hypotheses to be examined include a devastating lightning strike, technical failure, or the possibility that the Airbus aquaplaned on the wet runway. The airplane itself was only six years old and was last serviced on July 15.

Steve Shaw of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said that 43 passengers had been injured. Air France said that 22 passengers were treated for minor injuries after the crash. There were 104 Canadians and 101 French among the passengers, as well as British, Americans, Indians and Italians.

Toronto airport had been under a "red alert" since noon yesterday after Environment Canada issued a severe weather warning for the region. When on red alert, the airport allows aircraft to land and take-off but is wary of lightning strikes.

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