Sunday, May 25, 2008 - 16:00
AFP News Briefs ListCargo plane crashes at Brussels airport, no injuries: spokesman
An American-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed as it took off at Brussels airport on Sunday but no injuries were reported, an airport spokeswoman told AFP.
The jumbo jet broke in two after the crash, which happened around 1130 GMT, coming to rest at the end of the runway some 500 metres (yards) from housing in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem.
Fire engines had surrounded the wreckage and a yellow emergency escape chute was seen emerging from the door, while a helicopter flew overhead.
The massive four-engined jet belonged to Kalitta Air and had five people on board, airport spokeswoman Tru Lefevere said.
"There are no injuries even though the five people on board have been taken to hospital," Lefevere said, adding that one of them was in a state of shock.
She said the accident had not disrupted air traffic, but another airport official, Jan van der Cruysse, said the rail link between the airport and the centre of the Belgian capital had been suspended as the line was close the scene.
In December 1999 a Korean Air Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed soon after takeoff from Stansted airport near London, killing all four crew.
Large-scale disaster was averted after the plane, whose cargo included highly inflammable chemicals, including paint and benzene, missed villages and crashed into fields.
Crew failure to deal with a faulty instrument emergency and maintenance faults were cited as the cause of the accident.
