Polish Military Plane Crashes, 18 Feared Dead

There was no information on the possible cause of the accident.

A Polish military plane crashed on Wednesday most likely killing all 18 people on board, including several air force commanders, a defence ministry spokesman said.

Officials said the Spanish-made CASA 295m transport plane carrying 14 passengers and four crew was approaching a military airport in northern Poland when the accident took place.

"We can expect that all 18 people died in the accident," Colonel Cezary Siemion, a senior defence ministry spokesman, said by telephone.

Earlier a health official said the wrecked plane had burst into flames during the rescue attempt.

"Ambulances (at the scene) have turned round, everything went up in flames," Janusz Napiorkowski, head of a nearby military hospital, told dziennik.pl news website.

The plane was carrying officials taking part in an aviation safety conference and Siemion said senior air force commanders could be among the casualties.

There was no information on the possible cause of the accident and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said it would be thoroughly investigated.

"This is a major disaster," Klich told TVN24. "I'd like to give my sympathies to the families. We share your pain."