Food aid plane crashes in fog near Pristina

A WORLD Food Programme plane crashed in foggy weather last night with 24 people on board while approaching the Kosovar capital, Pristina, on its regular shuttle flight from Rome.

The passenger list was not immediately available but government representatives, aid workers and UN staff were on board, the agency said. The plane had three crew members.

Teams searching for the ATR-24 transport aircraft found aircraft wreckage in a highly mined area in the north of the Serbian province, near the village of Slakovce, a senior UN official said. K-For helicopters with the Nato-led intervention force in the Serbian province were leading the search for the plane, which disappeared off the radar screen at 12.13pmabout 10 miles north of the Kosovar capital.

Catherine Bertini, executive director of the WFP, said: "K-For ... have not been able to get to the site yet in order to check on the passengers. We have no idea what happened." She said no details about the passengers would be released until all next of kin had been informed.