Belfast flight crashes at Cork, killing six

Investigations have begun into an air crash that killed six people and injured six others at Cork airport in southern Ireland yesterday morning.

A commuter flight from Belfast flipped over on to its back during the pilot's third attempt to land in thick fog, flattening part of the aircraft and strewing wreckage over a wide area. A fire in an engine was extinguished before it could reach the cabin.

One of the dead was named locally as Brendan McAleese, a businessman from Co Tyrone, who is a cousin of Dr Martin McAleese, the husband of the Irish President Mary McAleese. Another was Pat Cullinan, a partner in the accountancy company KPMG. Of the six people who died, three were British passport holders, two were Irish citizens and one was a Spaniard.

Staff at Cork University Hospital said four survivors had injuries that were serious but not life-threatening.

The flight was carrying 10 passengers and two crew on a scheduled flight. The twin-engined aircraft, an 18-seater Fairchild Metroliner, was leased by Manx2, which is based in the Isle of Man.