Two dead in Dubai freighter crash

UAE Air Crash investigators are at the scene of the fatal crash of a UPS freighter just 18km from Dubai International Airport. Both crew members died after reporting a fire in the cockpit after take-off from the nearby airport.

The Boeing 747-400 was en route to Cologne in Germany, when it crashed at about 8pm local time on Friday evening.

According to a statement issued by the General Civil Aviation Authority, rescue workers have recovered the bodies of the two crew.

Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the GCAA spoke on Dubai TV and said the jet couldn't return to Dubai International Airport when controllers ordered a landing after being told of the fire.

There were no adverse weather conditions with clear visibility and winds at five knots.

A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board is on its way to Dubai to assist in the investigation. Boeing and enginemakers GE also have investigators on the way.

The aircraft crashed close to the main Emirates highway in an unpopulated area but close to a military camp.

"The pilot reported fire and smoke in the cockpit and was instructed to return to Dubai," Al Suwaidi told Dubai TV. "After failing to land at the airport, the plane disappeared from radar screens."

The crash site is close to where a Sudanese freighter crashed in October last year after take-off from Sharjah Airport.