MOGADISHU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations-contracted cargo plane carrying humanitarian supplies crashed while landing on an airstrip in El-Barde in southwestern Somalia on Thursday.
The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said the aircraft was transporting humanitarian supplies for the World Food Program when it veered off the runway in the South West State of Somalia.
"The UN is working with the contracted airline company and federal and South West State authorities to investigate the incident," UNSOM said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
According to the UN mission, initial reports indicate there was one fatality and two people injured.
The latest incident comes a week after another UN-contracted helicopter accidentally landed in al-Shabab's controlled territory in the Galmudug area in central Somalia on Jan. 11.
The helicopter was conducting an air medical evacuation in the region when the incident occurred.
The incident is under investigation by the UN mission in Somalia amid reports that the al-Shabab terrorist group is holding at least six UN workers hostage while two others escaped. ■
