November 28, 2009 15:01 PM

Three Dead, Four Injured In Cargo Plane Crash In Shanghai Pudong Airport

SHANGHAI, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- Three staff died and four others injured after a cargo plane caught fire at the Shanghai Pudong airport Saturday, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting local officials as saying.

The blaze occurred at 8:12 a.m., when the plane veered off the runway before it took off, they said.

All the seven foreign staff were rushed to the People's Hospital of Pudong New Area, where three of them died and one is in serious condition as of 11:00 a.m.

The four injured men appeared weak but remained conscious in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.

Two of the seven staff were from the United States and Indonesia, while the nationalities of others were yet identified, local health officials said.

The plane, SMJ 324, was registered at Zimbabwe. It was scheduled to fly from Shanghai to Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Affected by the accident, more than 30 international flights were delayed, which stranded about 4,000 passengers in planes or airport lounges, according to officials with the Shanghai Pudong Airport.

-- BERNAMA

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