Two people are dead and a third seriously injured after a Delta flight’s tire burst as he was being rescued from the plane in Atlanta.

The explosion rocked an airport maintenance area Tuesday … and firefighters and police rushed to the Delta TechOps hangar near the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson shortly after 5 a.m.

The identities of the victims have not been publicly released…but the company confirmed that one person killed was a Delta employee and the other was a contractor. No information is yet available on the condition of the injured person.

Delta sent its condolences. The company said it was saddened by the tragedy and offered its full support to the families and employees of the victims.