5 killed as plane crash-lands in eastern Ukraine

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Irina Gorbaseva / APInvestigators at the scene of a plane crash outside an airport in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Thursday.By Richard Balmforth, ReutersAt least five people were killed when a plane carrying supporters to a  European soccer match in eastern Ukraine overshot the runway and broke  up when it attempted an emergency landing late on Wednesday, officials  said.

The twin-engined Antonov turboprop was bringing 45  passengers and crew on a charter flight from the Black Sea coastal city  of Odessa to Donetsk - most of them fans looking forward to attending a  Champions League clash between the Ukrainian home team Shakhtar and  Germany's Borussia Dortmund.

The emergencies ministry, quoted by  Interfax news agency, said the aircraft overshot the landing strip at  Donetsk airport which an eyewitness said was shrouded in thick fog at  the time. It overturned and broke up.

Follow @NBCNewsWorldApart from the five people confirmed dead, 12 others had been injured, the ministry said.

Andriy  Shyshatsky, head of Donetsk's regional administration speaking before a  fifth dead was confirmed, said the majority of passengers had been  saved.

"One person is visible in the wreckage, but we don't yet  know whether he is alive or not. We are searching for one other person,"  Shyshatsky told journalists.

An airport source quoted by Interfax said a stewardess who had been at the rear of the plane was unaccounted for.

A minute of silence was observed for the dead at the start of the Champions League match.

There  was no immediate word on why the flight crew had had to make an  emergency landing. But a survivor of the crash, quoted by Interfax, said  there had been a fire on board which had been brought under control.

This was not immediately confirmed by officials.

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