At least four dead as cargo plane crashes into sea during thunderstorm in Ivory Coast

At least four people have been killed after a cargo plane crashed off the Ivory Coast during a thunderstorm this morning. The crash, which took place near Abidjan, also injured six others on board, security sources said.

It is believed that there were 10 people on the Antonov aircraft at the time of the incident. French military sources said that a number of French nationals were among the injured. Police commissioner Charlemagne Bleu said: ‘The aircraft failed to land and crashed in the water.


‘Firefighters and security forces are on the scene.’ The spokesman for French forces in Ivory Coast said the cargo plane crashed into the sea after taking off from the international airport in Abidjan.

He said the plane was carrying French military cargo. The injured have been transported to Abidjan’s Port-Bouet camp for treatment. Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the beach Saturday as rescue workers ran to the scene. Ange Koutaye Ismael, a 19-year-old student, said he saw four bodies carried out of the airplane, which had been broken in two in the shallow waters. Ismael said he was at home Saturday morning when he noticed a plane flying low over his neighborhood.

When he heard a plane had crashed on the beach, he ran down to film it.  Stormy weather likely played a role in the crash, he said. ‘There was winds yesterday and I saw how planes seemed to have difficulties in getting up’, he said.


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