At least four people were killed and one person was injured after a Sri Lanka Air Force plane crashed at Athurugiriya, in the outskirts of Colombo. The Air Force Antanov 32 aircraft lost contact with the ground and went missing from radar shortly after taking off from Katunayake airport in Colombo.
The plane, with five people on board, was on its way to the airport in Ratmalana when it crashed at a rubber estate in Athurugiriya after hitting the roof of a house. There were no casualties on the ground, but at least one house lost part of its roof as the aircraft crashed. Civil aviation chief HM Nimalasiri said it was too early to establish the cause of the incident, but investigators were heading to the crash site.
Residents said there was thick fog over the area where the plane crashed. The pilot had reported difficulty in locating the landing strip before the plane crashed, the Sri Lanka Air Force said.
