An investigation has started regarding the plane crash that occurred at Ghana’s international airport on Saturday.

A Boeing 727 cargo plane crashed straight through a fence and onto a nearby street killing at least 10 people.

According to Doreen Owusu Fianko, chief executive of Ghana Airport Company, they have ruled out the cause of the crash as a result of a failure in airport equipment. Outside investigations are welcome to help get to the bottom of this.

“We would not hesitate to seek external assistance to unravel the cause and to take lessons from that,” she said.

There was an increased danger factor in this case as the Kotoka International Airport is surrounded by high-rise buildings and hotels. Luckily, the buildings were not hit as the number casualties could have been higher. Witnesses said that the plane smashed through the fence surrounding the airport before colliding with a bus.

Randy Banahene, a taxi driver who saw the crash, said an explosion was heard when the plane hit a wall. He said the plane landed on its belly across a road, its nose nicked and tail bent with punctures on its side, just yards from a residential neighbourhood.

Families gathered at the hospital mortuary on Saturday night to identify bodies. 27-year-old Castro Abuchor was apparently riding his bike when the plane hit him, killing him.

Passengers of the bus that the plane collided with did not survive.

Mortuary manager at the 37 Military Hospital,Woi Boamah Mensah,said that 80% of the deceased have been identified.All fourcrew members of the plane survived the crash and received a visit from Ghana President John Atta Mills.

“We are grateful to all of them,”Mills said at the clinic.

Billy Anaglate, spokesman for the Ghana Fire Service, said that all 10 people were killed on impact. He identified the plane as an Allied (Air) Cargo plane.

Ghana, a nation of more than 25 million in West Africa, hasn’t had a major airplane crash in recent years. The last air emergency the country had was in June 2006, when a TAAG Linhas Aereas De Angola flight to Sao Tome hit birds during takeoff. The plane landed safely and none of the 28 people onboard were injured.