What we know about deadly Kentucky cargo plane crash

At least 12 people have been killed after a cargo plane ran off the runway and burst into flames in Kentucky on Tuesday.

The aircraft, which was operated by the American delivery company UPS, struck several buildings after one of its engines caught fire and fell off during takeoff. Officials fear the number of dead and injured could rise.

Here is everything we know so far.

UPS flight 2976, an MD-11F cargo plane, crashed during takeoff at Louisville International Airport at around 17:15 local time on Tuesday, skidding off the runway and striking nearby buildings. It was bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, with three crewmembers aboard.

The aircraft burst into flames and at least two nearby businesses were hit by the wreckage, the state’s governor Andy Beshear has said.

Kentucky Petroleum Recycling was struck “pretty directly”, Beshear said, with a second business – Grade A Auto Parts – also impacted.

Unverified footage of the incident shows the plane was already engulfed in flames when it careered off the runway.

The flames spread to several buildings close to the runway and officials launched a major operation to halt the blaze from spreading further.

Nearby residents were ordered to stay inside over fears of further explosions and air pollution. The airport is located in Kentucky’s biggest city and several neighbourhoods and business districts surround it.

All operations at the airport were halted but the runway reopened for flights on Wednesday.

Officials have confirmed 12 deaths so far but have warned that several people are still unaccounted for.

It is unclear whether that death toll includes the three crew members who were onboard and are feared dead.

Eleven other people have been injured and are being treated in hospital – but local officials say that figure is also likely to rise.

Andy Beshear said on Wednesday that 16 different families had reported loved ones unaccounted for.

Local officials said they are not sure how many victims they are looking for and that the search will be a challenge because the debris zone is so large.

The head of the local fire service said he was not aware of anyone being trapped in nearby buildings but said searches were still ongoing.

Two workers at the auto business that was struck were still unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening, and it is not known how many customers were on the premises when the crash happened.

A preliminary investigation is under way but officials have said it is too early to say what caused the crash, though surveillance footage and data from the plane is helping piece it together.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) – which investigates such crashes – recovered the cockpit flight recorder and the flight data recorder, known as the black box, from the wreckage.

CCTV surveillance footage from the moments of the crash show the left engine of the aircraft “detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll”, Todd Inman with the NTSB said. The video has not yet been released.

He said the plane was able to lift off the ground and cleared a fence at the end of the runway before it hit multiple businesses surrounding the airport.

The crash caused a fire that spanned about a half a mile, Inman said.

The massive blaze was due to the amount of fuel onboard the aircraft, which was beginning a journey of around 4,300 miles (6,920km) to Hawaii.

The aircraft was carrying 38,000 gallons (144,000 litres) of fuel when it crashed.

Additional video online from the crash shows a portion of the wing on fire.

It has not been confirmed what cargo was on board, though officials have said the plane was not carrying anything that would create a heightened risk of contamination.

Louisville Fire Department chief Brian O’Neal said the amount of fuel spilled at the crash site made it a “very dangerous situation”.

An order warning people to shelter in place was reduced from a five-mile radius from the airport to a one-mile radius as crews worked to contain the blaze on Tuesday night.

The model of aircraft involved was a MD-11F large triple-engine plane, which first entered service 34 years ago.

Inman said that the plane was manufactured in 1991 and was later altered to be used as a freighter.