Several injured after rough landing for Southwest flight at LaGuardia Airport

NEW YORK - Several people were injured when a Southwest Airlines flight with 150 people on board landed at New York City's LaGuardia Airport without its nose gear, officials said.

Eight passengers were injured, the airline said. Port Authority spokeswoman Lisa MacSpadden said the injured passengers and crew on the flight from Nashville, Tennessee, reported back and neck pain.

LaGuardia said it had reopened one of its runways following the incident, which occurred at 5:45 p.m. EDT (5.45am Tuesday Singapore time). The FAA is investigating the incident and the National Transportation Safety Board said it had dispatched a team to look into it.

The airline said passengers had been evacuated from the plane.

"Emergency responders at New York's LaGuardia airport are assisting with an evacuation of flight 345 after the Boeing 737 arrived this evening from Nashville," Southwest said in a statement.

NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the agency "will gather more information on the incident from the FAA and the operator and assess the damage to the airplane. From there, decisions will be made regarding any further investigative activity from the NTSB."

Televised images of the plane showed it surrounded by emergency vehicles.