Washington, 6 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The death toll from the crash of a UPS cargo aircraft in the US state of Kentucky has risen to 12, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said late on Wednesday.

"I can now confirm that there are 12 fatalities," the mayor told CNN affiliate WHAS, adding that three of them were believed to be the crew members who had been on board the aircraft.

"With what we saw, it would not surprise me if there are even more confirmed fatalities," Greenberg told the local broadcaster, speaking about an hour after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced in a press briefing that first responders were going "from rescue to recovery mode."

"It was unlike anything I've ever seen in person before," the mayor said of the scene. "Half a mile long of just charred, mangled metal, still some pockets of burning embers and smoke that you could still see. The smells... absolutely devastating."

In the press conference, the governor had mentioned he expected the death toll "to reach 12" and that "we believe one of those lost was a young child."

More than a dozen people were injured, some very seriously, suffering burns, smoke inhalation and shrapnel wounds.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport at around 5:15 pm (2215 GMT) on Tuesday. The aircraft had been headed to Honolulu, in the US state of Hawaii.

Footage from the scene showed the plane crashing only moments later and erupting into a massive fireball. Police said the aircraft came down roughly five kilometres south of the airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the crash.

NTSB member Todd Inman said in a Wednesday briefing that airport security CCTV shows "the left engine detaching from the wing during the take-off roll."

The aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder - known as "black boxes" - have been recovered.

The FAA said that the aircraft was fully fuelled for its nearly 7,000-kilometre journey from Louisville to Honolulu. According to officials, the crash site is located in the vicinity of a recycling and auto parts company.