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Cargo plane crashes at Halifax Airport
CTV.ca News Staff
A large cargo plane with seven crew members on board has crashed at Halifax International Airport.
The Boeing 747 was taking off around 4 a.m. AT on it s way to Spain when it crashed into a rock quarry at the end of a runway, said Const. Joe Taplin of the RCMP.
The fate of the crew is not known, but a spokesman for MK Airlines, which owns the plane, said the situation looked grim.
"I understand from our people on the ground in Halifax that there may be no survivors,'' Steve Anderson told Canadian Press.
An official at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre said they were put on Code Orange, meaning they had to prepare for mass casualties. However, the Code Orange was later called off and no casualties were brought to the hospital.
CTV's John Vennavally-Rao is at the airport and says there are reports the plane hit power lines, then broke in to pieces when it hit the ground. He says the weather is clear and does not appear to be a factor in the crash.
The crash resulted in a major fire that has completely closed the ariport, which is in a remote area outside city limits.
Cab drivers taking passengers to the airport reported that they had been turned back.
"RCMP and emergency firefighters are on site,'' said airport spokesman Pat Chapman. "The airport is closed.''
More to come...