KABUL, April 25: A Russian-made cargo plane arriving from Dubai swerved off the runway at Kabul airport in Afghanistan on Monday morning and burst into flames, injuring five crew members, an official said. “During landing one of its tyres burst and the plane slid off the runway catching fire,” Mohammed Qasim Jarar, director of Kabul Airport said.

“But we were able to respond to it very quickly. Five of the crew members were slightly injured and one survived unharmed,” he added. No one was killed and the injured had been taken to hospital, Mr Jarar said.

Air traffic at Kabul is controlled by Bagram Air Base, the US-led coalition headquarters.

In December an Antonov brought Kabul airport to a standstill after its landing gear failed to lower and it bellyflopped onto the runway.—AFP