As the sun set and businesses started to close in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, the evening calm was suddenly shattered by a giant explosion near the city’s airport.
A UPS freight plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport –– ripping through several businesses, including a waste recycling company that keeps storage tanks of oil and propane.
With more than 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the cargo flight bound for Hawaii, the crash created a massive ball of fire – punctuated by smaller explosions from flammable material on the ground – and sent a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky.
At least seven people are dead and 11 injured from the crash, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media late Tuesday, warning those numbers could climb as an investigation into the crash continues.
The only three people on the flight –– all crew members –– are presumed dead, officials said. The four others confirmed to have died were not on board the plane, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a news briefing late Tuesday.
A ground crew member told CNN she got word of an explosion on the UPS side of the airport and ran over to see what was happening. Once she was there, she heard several more explosions while watching the smoke grow.
UPS freight plane crash devastates Louisville, where ties to the shipping giant run deep?
A UPS freight plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport –– ripping through several businesses, including a waste recycling company that keeps storage tanks of oil and propane.
With more than 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the cargo flight bound for Hawaii, the crash created a massive ball of fire – punctuated by smaller explosions from flammable material on the ground – and sent a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky.
At least seven people are dead and 11 injured from the crash, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media late Tuesday, warning those numbers could climb as an investigation into the crash continues.
The only three people on the flight –– all crew members –– are presumed dead, officials said. The four others confirmed to have died were not on board the plane, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a news briefing late Tuesday.
A ground crew member told CNN she got word of an explosion on the UPS side of the airport and ran over to see what was happening. Once she was there, she heard several more explosions while watching the smoke grow.
UPS freight plane crash devastates Louisville, where ties to the shipping giant run deep?
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