An undated photo of an Antonov An-24 plane that crashed in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, Russia.
At least five people have been killed when a plane carrying 45 passengers and crew crash-landed and caught fire near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, officials say.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Emergencies said in a statement that the Antonov AN-24 plane, a twin-engine turboprop, overshot the runway at Donetsk’s Sergey Prokofiev International Airport and broke up when it attempted an emergency landing late on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Twelve others were injured in the accident, the statement added.
The plane was on an internal flight from the Black Sea resort of Odessa. The majority of the passengers were football fans on their way to Donetsk to watch a Champions League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Germany’s Borussia Dortmund.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident. However, reports suggest that the airport was shrouded in thick fog at the time. A commission has been set up to investigate the deadly crash.
MN/MHB
