BEIJING: An Air China cargo plane has crashed near Urumqi airport in China's northwestern Xinjiang region, the Xinhua news agency and local officials say.
The Il-76 cargo plane, a four-engined heavy transport aircraft, crashed around 11:00 am (0300 GMT), Xinhua said.
An official at the Urumqi traffic control tower told AFP no foreigners were onboard, while a policeman at the airport said the plane belonged to Air China.
"There were no foreigners aboard," the official said before hanging up the phone without revealing how many people the plane was carrying.
The Ilyushin 76 was developed in the late 1960s as a replacement for the turboprop powered Antonov An-12, mainly for military use.
It first flew in March 1971 with full production commencing in 1975, when they entered the fleet of Russian airline Aeroflot.
They are now in widespread use in eastern Europe and Africa.
The Il-76 cargo plane, a four-engined heavy transport aircraft, crashed around 11:00 am (0300 GMT), Xinhua said.
An official at the Urumqi traffic control tower told AFP no foreigners were onboard, while a policeman at the airport said the plane belonged to Air China.
"There were no foreigners aboard," the official said before hanging up the phone without revealing how many people the plane was carrying.
The Ilyushin 76 was developed in the late 1960s as a replacement for the turboprop powered Antonov An-12, mainly for military use.
It first flew in March 1971 with full production commencing in 1975, when they entered the fleet of Russian airline Aeroflot.
They are now in widespread use in eastern Europe and Africa.