Cargo jet hits van in Ghana, at least 10 dead

ACCRA (Reuters) - A cargo jet slammed into a minivan at Ghana's Accra airport on Saturday after overshooting the runway on landing, killing at least 10 people, airport officials said.

The Boeing (BA.N) 727-200 was operated by Nigerian cargo airline Allied Air, Doreen Owusu Fianko, managing director of Ghana Airport Company, told reporters.

"The aircraft collided with a mini Mercedez van resulting in 10 confirmed fatalities," she said, adding all four crew of the aircraft survived the accident.

The plane had taken off from Lagos, Nigeria, but failed to stop at the end of the runway after it touched down at Accra's Kotoka airport just after 7 p.m. (1900 GMT), she said.

A Reuters witness saw a badly mangled minivan and ten bodies next to the crashed plane, which had parts of its wing and undercarriage torn off.

The airport perimeter wall near the road was smashed. Ambulances, police and military were at the scene.

A doctor at the airport medical clinic next to the runway said he heard "a loud bang and screeches" and then went outside, where he saw a plume of smoke rising from the accident site.

Operations at the airport remained normal with all flights on schedule, Fianko said. Officials did not say what the plane was carrying.

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)