Story highlights "What we saw was just tons of smoke and we saw people evacuating," says witness

More than 200 flights were delayed and 43 flights were canceled

Plane taxiing behind Boeing 767 notices fuel leak before plane caught fire

(CNN) The engine of a Boeing 767 carrying 101 people caught fire as the plane taxied for departure Thursday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, officials said. It was bound for Caracas, Venezuela.

Seventeen people were taken to Broward Health Medical Center, according to a spokeswoman there. Among those transported were a child and a trauma patient. Two of the 17 had been treated and discharged as of Thursday evening.

The pilot of an aircraft traveling behind Dynamic International Airways Flight 405 reported fuel was leaking from the aircraft before it caught fire, a Federal Aviation Administration official said. The fire occurred about 12:30 p.m. on the airport's north runway.

"We were following this plane on the runway, and then all of a sudden, after the screams on the plane, we looked out the window and just saw the smoke," Mike Dupuy, a witness, told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

"What we saw was just tons of smoke, and we saw people evacuating," he said.

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