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Lankan plane crash probe begins

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's civil aviation authorities on Saturday began a probe of a cargo plane crash near the international airport in which two people on the ground and six crewmen were killed, officials said.

Five of the crewmen killed in the Friday evening crash in bad weather were identified as Russian nationals while the sixth was a Sri Lankan, hospital sources said.

They said a 15-year-old boy and an elderly woman also died when the Antanov AN-12 cargo carrier crashed into their house just north of the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Airport chairman Sudharshan Manamperi said, the aircraft had been in a holding pattern for about 45 minutes after overshooting the runway because of poor visibility caused by heavy rains.

"It looks like a weather-related accident, but we are also looking into other things such as if the aircraft suffered fuel starvation because it had been holding for some time after aborting the first landing attempt," he said.

He said an investigation was getting underway on Saturday.

Air force troops were deployed to cordon off the area and help with the rescue effort and investigation. Rescue attempts were hampered by the heavy rain.

Officials said, the aircraft was carrying about 18 tonnes of garments. AFP