A devastating incident unfolded at Louisville, Kentucky, where a UPS cargo plane met a tragic end, erupting into a fiery explosion during its takeoff from the company’s worldwide aviation hub. The crash claimed the lives of at least seven individuals and left 11 others injured, as reported by local authorities.

The accident occurred around 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday as the aircraft was embarking on its journey to Honolulu from the UPS Worldport at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Footage captured the dramatic scene, showing flames engulfing the plane’s left wing and a dense plume of smoke trailing behind. The aircraft managed a slight lift off the ground before plummeting back down and igniting into a massive fireball. Video also depicted significant damage to a nearby building, with its roof torn apart adjacent to the runway’s end.

By Tuesday evening, officials confirmed the death toll had risen to at least seven, with the tragic detail that four of the deceased were not aboard the plane.

Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky expressed his concern that the number of fatalities might grow. He also noted that among the 11 injured, some have sustained injuries described as “very significant.”

“Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” he said.

Beshear said he didn’t know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991.

UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville, and the company announced Tuesday night that it had halted package sorting at the center and didn’t say when it would resume. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.”

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation and sending 28 people.

The airport, meanwhile, was shut down and wasn’t expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take to render that scene safe,” said Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey.

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based on the videos, it looked like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines. Given the large amount of fuel it was carrying, once the fire started in that area, it would’ve been only a matter of time before there was an explosion or the fire grew rapidly.

“Really, the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.

The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.

Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy where people gathered looking for information about missing loved ones on Tuesday night, hoping to find out what had happened to his girlfriend. She had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion and wasn’t answering her phone, he told the AP. Her phone’s live location said she was still there.

Bobby Whelan, Richardson’s friend, had been in front of her in line, but had left minutes before the explosion. He said he was about a quarter mile down the road when he heard what sounded like a bomb exploding.

“We don’t even want to think about anything but the best,” Whelan said. “All our friends were there.”

A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke.

Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”

“This was massive. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone,” he said.

Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, when she heard a loud boom.

“The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up,” she said. “Everyone is really concerned. People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home.”

The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.