Copyright American Press
First responders were searching for more victims Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball at the company’s global aviation hub in Kentucky, killing at least nine people, authorities said. The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media that 16 families gathered at a reunification center “have reported loved ones unaccounted for.” “This plane barely missed a restaurant bar. It was very close to a very large Ford plant with hundreds, if not a thousand-plus workers,” Beshear told CNN. “It was very close to our convention center that’s having a big livestock show that people were arriving for. So, really tough, but recognize it could be worse.” He said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected. University of Louisville Hospital said Wednesday that two people were in critical condition in the burn unit and that 13 others had been treated and discharged. Norton Hospital said it had released three people. The airport is 7 miles (11.2 kilometers) from downtown Louisville, close to the Indiana state line, residential areas, a water park and museums. A shelter-in-place order was in effect for a quarter of a mile (400-meter) radius, as officials monitored air quality. Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in flames. Video showed portions of a building’s shredded roof next to the end of the runway. Beshear said he didn’t know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. It wasn’t immediately clear if they were being counted among the dead. “Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” the governor said. ‘We all know somebody who works at UPS’ The Louisville package handling facility is the company’s largest. UPS announced late Tuesday that package sorting at the center was halted, and the company told workers to not show up Wednesday, too. The hub employs thousands of workers, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour. “We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.”
