Two people are dead and a third is seriously injured after a Delta flight’s tire blew up while it was being removed from the plane in Atlanta.

The explosion rocked an airport maintenance area Tuesday … with firefighters and police officers rushing to the Delta TechOps hangar near the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson, just after 5 AM.

The victims haven’t been publicly identified … but the company confirmed one person killed was a Delta employee and the other person killed was a contractor. There’s no update yet on the injured person’s condition.

It’s still unclear what caused the explosion … but Delta said in their statement they’re working with local authorities and the FAA in a full investigation.