| At least six people were killed when a small commuter plane carrying 12 people crashed Thursday while trying to land in heavy fog at Cork Airport in southwest Ireland, authorities said.
Cork County Council, which oversees emergency services, said six people were killed and six others injured. It said two passengers had to be cut from the wreckage, and all six survivors - among them passengers with severe burns - were at Cork University Hospital.
Local broadcaster RTE and London-based Sky News television reported at eight the number of deaths in the crash of the aircraft operated by Isle of Man-based airline Manx2.com.
The turboprop, travelling from Belfast, Northern Ireland, was making a second attempt to land in "low-visibility conditions" when it crashed and overturned on the runway and caught fire, the Irish Aviation Authority said in a statement.
"There is a fire and debris has been scattered onto the runway and over a wide area," said authority spokesman Martin Towey.
Towey said the aircraft was a Fairchild Metroliner, an 18-seat turboprop aircraft manufactured in San Antonio, Texas, in 1992. It was carrying 10 passengers and two crew members.
Cork Airport's runway has been closed and all incoming flights are being diverted to Shannon, the larger airport in southwest Ireland.
Thursday's crash was the deadliest in Irish aviation since 1968, when an Aer Lingus flight from Cork to London crashed into the Irish Sea, killing all 61 on board.
Manx2.com., which was founded in 2006 and operates flights linking Ireland, Britain and the Isle of Man, opened the Belfast-Cork route six months ago. |
