US plane crash leaves at least four dead - with number expected to rise

At least four people have died after a cargo plane crashed near an airport in Kentucky.

Police are attending the scene of the accident near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, with images from the scene showing large fires burning and smoke billowing into the air. Speaking at a news conference, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear described the incident as "catastrophic" and urged local residents to obey any shelter-in-place orders.

"We believe we have at least three fatalities - and I believe that number is going to get larger," he said. "We have at least 11 injuries, some of which are very significant." Those injured were said to be on the ground.

At a later press conference, local police confirmed that four people had died and 11 had been taken to hospital. Mr Beshear added earlier that two employees on the ground are missing after the incident, and that two buildings on the ground were affected.

Other authorities said that the plane was carrying 38,000 gallons of fuel at the time of the crash. 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. In a statement on its website, CPS said three people were on board the plane at the time of the crash.

Louisville International Airport is also home to UPS Worldport, the delivery firm's largest package handling facility in the world. The airport said all arriving and departing flights are temporarily suspended, that the airfield is closed, and warned passengers should closely monitor their flights.

Read more from Sky News:Could this be New York City's next mayor?Analysis: Dick Cheney believed history would vindicate him 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" and added: "There will be many questions asked in the coming days by the National Transportation Safety Authority about what exactly has gone wrong.".