US military plane crashes

A C-5 cargo plane carrying 17 people crashed near Dover Air Force Base in the US state of Delaware early today, state officials said.

There was no immediate word on fatalities.

The plane, the military’s largest, went down about 6:45am (11.45am Irish time), said Allen Metheny, assistant director in the state Department of Public Safety.

He said some people were taken to hospitals with injuries, but he did not have numbers or details of the extent of the injuries.

The plane broke into three pieces, with the cockpit separated from the fuselage and a wing shattered.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the plane was taking off or landing when it crashed.