Lufthansa cargo plane crashes in Saudi Arabia

July 27, 2010 04:32 pm | Updated 04:32 pm IST - Riyadh/Frankfurt

A Lufthansa cargo plane crashed on Tuesday as it was attempting to land in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, authorities in the kingdom said.

The pilot and co-pilot were being taken to hospital, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said, without elaborating on the condition of the two people who were on board.

A Lufthansa spokesman in Frankfurt confirmed that both crew members survived the crash and were receiving medical treatment.

Black smoke came from the plane as it started to descend over Riyadh before it crashed and broke in half, the al-Arabiya satellite channel reported.

The MD-11 cargo plane, arriving from Frankfurt, was forced to land on an auxiliary runway as the main one was not available, Saudi authorities said.

Firefighters and other emergencies services were at the scene, trying to extinguish the fire.

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