A cargo plane crashed early in the morning and turned into a fireball shortly after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, in the central US state, killing at least seven people, Gov. Andy Beshear said, as he feared the death toll would rise.
“UPS Flight 2976 crashed at approximately 5:15 p.m. local time,” the FAA, the US civil aviation agency, said via X, specifying that it was a three-engine McDonnell Douglas MD-11 bound for Hawaii.
The aircraft had “three crew members,” UPS said in a news release. The airline arm of the transportation and package delivery company is based in Louisville.
“The news out of Louisville is bad tonight (…) the death toll has now reached at least 7 and that number will no doubt rise,” Gov. Beshear said via X, adding that firefighting efforts and the crash investigation were continuing and air quality monitors were being deployed in the area.
Amateur video, broadcast by local television station WLKY, shows the left engine on fire while the MD-11 was still taxiing on the runway and trying to take off before exploding, causing a huge fire and plume of smoke.
The plane came to an end nearly 5 kilometers from the airport, according to police.
Aerial footage from local television network helicopters shows a large fire hundreds of meters across in an area where sheds and parking lots are located, with headlights of emergency and first aid vehicles visible a short distance away.
“As of this stage, we think the main affected area is that (where the headquarters of) two companies are located,” according to Mr. Beshear.
