At least seven dead as UPS cargo plane explodes in fireball in Kentucky

First responders were preparing on Wednesday morning to resume searching for victims after a UPS cargo plane crashed and erupted in flames while taking off from the company’s global air hub in Louisville, killing at least seven people and injuring 11 others, authorities said.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft went down around 5.15 pm local time on Tuesday shortly after departing from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The plane was bound for Honolulu when it exploded in a massive fireball near the end of the runway.

Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg said more than 200 emergency responders were deployed to the scene on Tuesday night. “We’ll continue to put every resource we have available to this,” he told local station WLKY-TV on Wednesday morning.

Dramatic video footage showed flames bursting from the plane’s left wing, followed by a trail of smoke as it struggled to lift off. The aircraft appeared to rise briefly before crashing and exploding, sending a huge column of fire and black smoke into the air. Nearby buildings sustained heavy damage, with parts of a roof seen shredded in the aftermath.

Officials confirmed that of the seven fatalities, four were not aboard the aircraft, suggesting that people on the ground were also caught in the blast.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said he feared the death toll could increase as rescue crews continued searching the debris field. Eleven people were reported injured, some of them critically. “Anybody who has seen the images or the videos knows how violent this crash was,” Beshear said. He added that the fate of the three UPS crew members onboard was still uncertain.

The MD-11 aircraft was built in 1991, according to the company. UPS, which operates its largest air hub in Louisville, said it had temporarily halted package sorting operations following the crash and had not indicated when they would resume. The sprawling Worldport facility handles more than 400,000 packages an hour, employs thousands of workers, and supports about 300 daily flights.

“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” said Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe. “They’re all texting their friends and family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.”

Mayor Greenberg confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would lead the investigation, dispatching a 28-member team to Louisville. City officials have also launched an online form for residents to report debris that may have landed in nearby yards or streets.

Authorities initially issued a shelter-in-place order covering a one-mile (1.6-kilometre) radius due to concerns about air quality and possible fuel contamination. The order was scaled back early Wednesday to a quarter-mile (0.4-kilometre) zone after tests showed conditions improving.

The airport was shut down overnight following the explosion but began to partially resume operations on Wednesday morning. Priority was given to flights that had been cancelled on Tuesday. Some Wednesday departures, however, were also scrapped due to ongoing safety checks.

Several passengers who were stranded overnight slept inside the terminal. Roads around the airport remained closed, and a local public school district suspended classes and extracurricular activities for the day.

Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas said early video evidence suggested the aircraft had been struggling to gain altitude while a fire burned near its left engine. Given the large quantity of fuel on board for a long-haul flight to Hawaii, Rojas said, the fire would have quickly become uncontrollable.

“Really, the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he explained.

Governor Beshear said the crash appeared to have directly hit a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, and also affected a nearby auto parts facility.

As emergency crews combed through the wreckage, anxious relatives and friends gathered at a nearby police training academy late Tuesday, desperate for news of missing loved ones.

Among them was Eric Richardson, who was searching for his girlfriend, last seen at a metal recycling business near the blast site. Her phone had stopped responding, and its location remained fixed at the crash area. “We don’t even want to think about anything but the best,” said Bobby Whelan, Richardson’s friend, who had left the site just minutes before the explosion. “All our friends were there.”

Video captured by Leirim Rodríguez showed multiple massive fireballs erupting in succession, followed by thick, rolling plumes of black smoke. Witnesses described a scene of chaos and devastation.

Tom Brooks Jr., who runs another recycling operation nearby, said the sheer power of the blast “just rocked the whole place. This was massive. It literally looked like a war zone,” he told reporters.

Destyn Mitchell, working as a host at an Outback restaurant about 15 minutes away, said the explosion was audible from across the city. “The mood in the restaurant was shaken. People who had just sat down to eat got up and left within half an hour, wanting to hurry home,” she said.

Louisville’s airport lies only 10 minutes from downtown, near the Ohio River and the Indiana state line. The surrounding area includes residential neighbourhoods, a water park, and several museums, heightening concerns about how close the disaster came to the city’s heart.

With AP/PTI inputs