Ivory Coast plane crash: Four dead after Aircraft goes down in Atlantic Ocean near Abidjan

Athe least four people were dead when a cargo plane crashed into the sea off the Ivory Coast shortly after taking off during a lightning storm.

The aircraft plunged into the sea shortly after taking off from the international airport in the city of Abidjan on the Atlantic coast.

Rescue workers have been pulled two bodies from the wreckage with two other bodies visible inside, according to witnesses.

Pictures have emerged apparently showing the broken pieces of the doomed plane washing ashore near Port-Bouet.

The aircraft, which took off from Felix Houphout Boigny airport at around 9am this morning, went down amid torrential rain and lightning.

It is thought to be a Ukrainian propeller-driven cargo plane that was carrying freight for the French army.

The named of the company operating the plane is yet to be reported.

Felix Houphout Boigny airport, 6 km south east of Abidjan, is the largest airport in the Ivory Coast for air traffic.

The airport is served by over 20 airlines, covering more than 35 destinations, including European countries.

It is also used by the French military which operates a logistics base there in support of an anti-Islamist militant operation in West Africa’s Sahel region.