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A Above The cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball while taking off from the company’s global aviation hub. louisville, kentuckyAt least seven people died and 11 were injured, officials said.
The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was taking off from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport to Honolulu.
In the video, flames and a trail of smoke are visible on the left wing of the plane. The plane rose slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge fireball. The video also showed parts of the collapsed roof of a building next to the end of the runway.
The death toll rose to at least seven Tuesday night, officials said, adding that four of those killed were not on the plane.
Kentucky Government. andy beshear He said he feared the death toll would increase. Eleven people were also injured, he said, some of whom suffered “very serious” injuries.
“Anyone who has seen the pictures, the video, knows how violent this accident is,” he said.
Beshear said he did not know the condition of the three crew members aboard the 1991 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane.
UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville and the company announced Tuesday night that it had halted package sorting at the center and did not say when it would resume. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
“We all know someone who works at UPS,” said Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those messages will probably go unanswered.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation and is sending 28 people.
Meanwhile, the airport was closed and was not expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning.
“We don’t know how long it will take to render that scene safe,” Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey said.
Aviation lawyer Pablo Rojas said that based on the video it appeared the plane was struggling to gain altitude as a fire broke out on the left side around one of its engines. Given the large quantities of fuel being carried, once a fire starts in that area, it will only be a matter of time before an explosion occurs or the fire grows rapidly.
“The plane is actually acting almost like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
The governor said it appeared that one business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, was “directly impacted” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.
Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy where people gathered Tuesday night to seek information about their missing loved ones, in hopes of learning what happened to his girlfriend. She told the AP that she was at a metal recycling business near the explosion and was not answering her phone. Live location on her phone showed she was still there.
Richardson’s friend Bobby Whalen was ahead of her in line, but left minutes before the explosion. He said he was about a quarter mile down the road when he heard what sounded like a bomb exploding.
“We don’t even want to think about anything other than the best,” Whalen said. “All our friends were there.”
A video taken by Leirim Rodriguez shows several huge balls of fire bursting into the sky in a row, followed by huge clouds of black smoke.
Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business across the street, said the incredible intensity of the crash “shook the whole place.”
“It was huge. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone,” he said.
Destin Mitchell was working as a hostess at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash site, when she heard a loud noise.
“The atmosphere in the restaurant was very shaken,” he said. “Everyone is really worried. People People who had just sat down to eat got up and left in less than 30 minutes and packed their food because they wanted to go home quickly.”
The Louisville Airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, located on the Ohio River at the Indiana state line. The area contains residential areas, a water park and museums.
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Golden reported from Seattle. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia and Adrian Saenz in Memphis, Tennessee contributed to this report.