This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Plane Crash - Lands, Explodes Near Liberian Capital February 15, 2002 By REUTERS Filed at 10:38 a.m. ET MONROVIA (Reuters) - A Russian-made transport plane crashed and blew up early on Friday near Liberia's main international airport, killing at least one person on board, the West African country's government said. Residents said they heard several explosions and what sounded like gunfire from the site of the crash. Government sources said one person had died and the other eight on board had been taken to hospital. ``An Antonov 12 aircraft crashed early this morning about four miles away from the approach to Roberts' International Airport,'' the government said in a statement. ``The transport ministry and RIA (airport) authorities (said) the Antonov 12 aircraft at about 5 a.m.this morning sought emergency landing permission while flying over Liberian territory. The permission was granted. However, a short time later the plane crashed and exploded on impact,'' it added. The government gave no indication of who owned the plane, where it had come from, where it was heading when it crashed or what it was carrying. Residents reported sounds of shooting from the crash site. ``We heard one boom, then another two. Then there were gun sounds for about an hour. We didn't know what was going on, whether we should run away or what,'' one farmer living near the airport told Reuters. The government is fighting northern-based rebels and declared a state of emergency a week ago after the rebels came close to the capital Monrovia. Diplomats believe arms may still be being flown into Liberia secretly in defiance of a United Nations arms embargo. The sanctions were strengthened last year to curb a trade in diamonds and arms which prolonged a brutal war in neighboring Sierra Leone. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-crash-liberia.html?ex=1014798958&ei=1&en=efbb0b03e82e0498 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company