Ivory Coast rescue workers removed two bodies from the plane, which had broken into several pieces and come to rest near the beach
AT LEAST four people were killed on Saturday when a propeller-engine cargo plane crashed in the sea near the international airport in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, a Reuters witness said.
Rescue workers removed two bodies from the Antonov An-26, which had broken into several pieces and come to rest near the beach.
The wreckage of a cargo plane after it crashed in the sea near the international airport in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan
At least four dead in plane crash in Ivory Coast -- witness say https://t.co/09hdIJ1APs … pic.twitter.com/Ob38sVLdze
— VOP World News (@VOP_World) October 14, 2017
Two other bodies were visible in the wreckage and six people are reported injured, two seriously.
The Ivorian security minister said the four killed were from Moldova in Eastern Europe and four of the injured are French.
The crash occurred during a storm with heavy rain and lightning and rescuers were hampered by rough seas.
Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the beach Saturday as rescue workers ran to the scene.
The aircraft failed to land and crashed in the water... Firefighters and security forces are on the scene," said police commissioner Charlemagne Bleu.
Though Abidjan's airport is located in a heavily populated area, it did not appear there were any victims on the ground.
The plane wreckage, broken into pieces, was scattered in the shallow waters.
The name of the company operating the aircraft was not immediately known.
Koaci reports the cargo plane belonged to a company that was carrying material for the French army.
[PHOTOS] At least four dead in plane crash in #IvoryCoast |https://t.co/HkEt7VrjzJ| pic.twitter.com/fefHp17TJz
— LBCI News English (@LBCI_News_EN) October 14, 2017
The aircraft crashed taking off from Felix Houphout Boigny airport around 9am local time.
The airport in Abidjan, a city of around 5 million people, is a busy regional transportation hub.
It is also used by the French military which operates a logistics base there in support of an anti-Islamist militant operation in West Africa's Sahel region.
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