(COVER PHOTO: WLKY via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — As the sun set and businesses started to close in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, the evening calm was suddenly shattered by a giant explosion near the city’s airport.
A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport –– ripping through several businesses, including a waste recycling company that keeps storage tanks of oil and propane.
With more than 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the cargo flight bound for Hawaii, the crash created a massive ball of fire – punctuated by smaller explosions from flammable material on the ground – and sent a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky.
At least nine people have died, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told CNN on Wednesday morning, warning the numbers could climb as the investigation continues. Earlier, officials said at least seven were killed and 11 injured.
The only three people on the flight –– all crew members –– are presumed dead, officials said.
A ground crew member told CNN she got word of an explosion on the UPS side of the airport and ran over to see what was happening. Once she was there, she heard several more explosions while watching the smoke grow.
“I kept looking for the firefighters and the first responders and couldn’t breathe until I saw those flashing emergency lights, the fire trucks pulling up,” said the crew member, who asked to remain anonymous.
Five miles from the airport, Louisville resident Amanda Rhye was at a grocery store when she saw the smoke and immediately knew “it had to be something major,” she told CNN.
“Everyone else around me realized it too. A couple of dozen people all stopped what they were doing and stared as the cloud quickly grew … within 20 minutes, the massive black cloud was over us in the sky,” she said.
Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to contain the fire and search the surrounding area for victims, Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill said at the Tuesday briefing.
“When you have such a large-scale incident and fire that spread over such a massive area, we have to use hundreds of personnel to surround it, contain it, and then slowly bring it in,” O’Neill said, adding the site is now safe enough for crews to put out remaining spot fires and “create a formal grid” to search the surroundings.
“These are trained firefighters from all around the region that are handling this to search, grid by grid, very carefully to make sure we can find any other victims,” the chief said.
How the crash unfolded
Josh Mitcham had just boarded a flight at the Louisville airport when he looked out the window and saw a dark cloud of smoke emerging into the sky.
“We didn’t really know what happened,” Mitcham told CNN. “The captain came over and said that there had been an accident and that it wasn’t good and that they recommended that we go ahead and get off the plane.”
The UPS cargo flight MD-11 crashed shortly after 5 p.m. after taking off on its way to Honolulu, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency said.
In audio from Louisville firefighters, a dispatcher tries to remain calm as initial details came in about a “possible explosion.” When one person asks how many buildings are on fire, someone responds that it’s at least two structures.
Gov. Beshear later said at least two businesses were hit: an auto parts store and Kentucky Petroleum Recycling. A nearby Ford Motor plant also lost power after the plane crash, Beshear said.
O’Neill said the crash ruptured some tanks at the recycling facility and sparked “secondary explosions.” He noted some of what might have sounded like explosions were actually relief valves releasing pressure as they’re designed to do.
The fire from the crash is largely “controlled and contained” but the area around the facility is “still going to be a mess … because of the fuel leaks and the oil,” O’Neill said.
The plane was not carrying any hazardous cargo that would “create an environmental issue,” Beshear said. Still, officials are monitoring Louisville’s air quality in the wake of the crash, the mayor said.
A shelter-in-place order was initially issued for all locations within five miles of the airport but was later reduced to a one-mile radius, emergency officials said.
After the crash, Louisville resident Justin Dunn and his son watched as what appeared to be debris fell out of the sky.
“My son was like, ‘Hey, look in the sky,’ and it was coming down out of the sky and he picked it up,” Dunn told CNN affiliate WAVE, holding up a piece of paper he said was among the debris.
“There’s definitely debris all through here, probably within 10 miles,” he added.
Officials are asking residents not to touch any debris they find and to take a picture and report it to authorities.
Because of the shelter-in-place order, Louisville’s Jefferson County Public Schools – the largest school district in Kentucky – will be closed Wednesday.
The Louisville airport shut down after the crash but is expected to reopen Wednesday, according to the mayor.
“This is a UPS town”
Louisville hosts UPS’s worldwide air hub, called Worldport, which serves as a cornerstone to the city’s economy. More than 12,000 employees process over 22 million packages daily, according to the company.
“Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers,” UPS said in a statement.
The Big Four Bridge connecting Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana, over the Ohio River, was lit up in yellow lights Tuesday night in honor of the crashed UPS flight Greenberg said on social media.
“This tragedy has touched every corner of our city. As Louisville’s skyline glows in yellow, we’re thinking of the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the entire community that calls Louisville home,” he wrote, accompanying a picture of the bridge.
Louisville “is a UPS town,” city councilwoman Betsy Ruhe said at a news conference Tuesday.
“My cousin’s a UPS pilot. My aide’s tennis partner is a UPS pilot. The intern in my office works overnight at UPS to pay for college,” Ruhe said.
“We all know somebody who works at UPS –– 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,” she added.
Kentucky state Sen. Keturah Herron described the accident as “jarring” after hitting “so close to home.”
“To happen in a place where many of us frequent on a regular basis, that many of us watch our family members and loved ones pass through on a regular basis … it’s very hurtful,” she said.
Dunn, the Louisville resident who found some of the plane’s debris, said he hadn’t been able to make contact with his friends who work for UPS. “I just hope everyone made it out of it,” he said.
The Teamsters union, which counts UPS as its single-largest employer in the country, issued a statement saying it was monitoring developments from the crash.
“As this horrific scene is being investigated, prayers on behalf of our entire International Union are with those killed, injured, and affected, including their families, co-workers, and loved ones,” the union said.
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