Alarms sounded in the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines jet shortly after taking off from Hollywood Burbank airport near Los Angeles on Friday, prompting evasive maneuvers, the airline said in a statement.

A Southwest Airlines flight plunged mid-air on Friday to avoid colliding with another aircraft while en route to Las Vegas, injuring two flight attendants, as passengers described flying out of their seats.

The Southwest Boeing 737 departed just before noon local time on Friday for a scheduled flight to Las Vegas. Six minutes after takeoff, a privately owned Hawker Hunter fighter jet crossed less than two miles in front of the Southwest plane, passing within a few hundred feet of the same altitude, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.