Plane crashes near airport in Kentucky

A cargo plane has crashed near an airport in Kentucky.

Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) say officers are attending the scene of the accident near Louisville International Airport. The force added: "LMPD and multiple other agencies are responding to reports of a plane crash near Fern Valley and Grade Lane.

"Grade Lane will be closed indefinitely between Stooges and Crittenden. Injuries reported." UPS said it has been notified of an incident involving one of its aircraft.

In a statement on its website, the company said three people were on board. A shelter-in-place order was also issued within five miles of the Kentucky airport, which is also home to UPS Worldport, the delivery firm's largest package handling facility in the world.

The airport said that all arriving and departing flights are temporarily suspended, that the airfield is closed, and warned passengers should closely monitor their flights. Sky's US correspondent David Blevins noted that the incident occurred during the US government shutdown, meaning the budget for paying air traffic controllers has not been finalised.

The failure to reopen the federal government after 35 days has, he said, resulted "in a shortage of staff locations" and added: "There will be many questions asked in the coming days by the National Transportation Safety Authority about what exactly has gone wrong in Louisville, Kentucky, this evening." The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the crash happened around 5.15pm local time (10.15pm UK time) as the plane left the airport, bound for Honolulu in Hawaii. It added that the aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane, primarily used by cargo airlines.

Read more from Sky News:Who is the 34-year-old socialist tipped to be New York City's next mayor?Analysis: Dick Cheney believed history would vindicate himRail worker who protected passengers during train stabbing named Kentucky governor Andy Beshear added on social media: "First responders are onsite, and we will share more information as available. "Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected.

We will share more soon.".