Mogadishu: An Airbus 300 crash landed Monday in Somalia after running low on fuel following a failed attempt to land at Mogadishu airport, officials and witnesses said.
Two of the seven crew on board were injured and the plane suffered little damage, senior police officer Ali Hussein said.
The plane, which was arriving from Egypt, was carrying food and other supplies for African Union troops in Somalia, said an aviation official who asked not to be named.
He said the plane was unable to land because the airport was closed for the night and the runway was not well lit.
The Somali aviation authorities had not been informed about the arrival of the plane, he added.
Mogadishu residents had been frightened by the plane flying at a low altitude.
It then turned to the Lower Shebelle region where it crashed about 25 kilometres south of Mogadishu, said a security official who did not want to be named.
African Union troops blocked the area, while military helicopters evacuated people from the crash site, Hussein and witnesses said.
The African Union has more than 22,000 troops in Somalia to help the government fight the Islamist group al-Shabaab. — BERNAMA