Louisville, Kentucky - A UPS cargo plane crashed on Tuesday evening near the Louisville International Airport shortly after takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

"UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time," the FAA said, identifying the aircraft as a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 departing Kentucky bound for Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii.

UPS said in a statement that three crew members were on board the aircraft, but provided no information as to any casualties or injuries."

In a post shared via X, however, the Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed that there were "injuries reported."

Law enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order for all locations within 5 miles, according to CNN.

Aerial footage of the crash site showed a long trail of debris as firefighters blasted water onto a conflagration, with smoke billowing from the disaster area.

A nearby building appeared to have sustained damage, possibly caused by the crash.

Last month, a cargo plane veered off the runway upon landing in Hong Kong, killing two people at the airport.

At least three people died and 11 more were injured after a UPS cargo plane crashed Tuesday as it was departing Louisville International Airport for Hawaii, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.

"Right now we believe we have at least three fatalities. Now I believe that number is going to get larger. We have at least 11 injuries, some of them very significant that are being treated by local hospitals," Beshear told a press briefing on Tuesday night.

"Again, I think that that number will get larger."

In a Tuesday night update on X, Governor Beshear said the death toll in the crash had risen to seven.

"First responders are onsite and working hard to extinguish the fire and continue the investigation," he wrote.

UPS said in a statement that three crew members were on board the aircraft, adding that "we have not confirmed any injuries/casualties."

Beshear said the status of the three crew members was unknown and said that he was "very concerned" for them.

The cause of the crash was under investigation by the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board.

Video shared by local broadcaster WLKY appears to show the aircraft's left engine on fire as it tried to lift off.

Beshear said the aircraft hit a petroleum recycling facility "pretty directly."

The crash comes amid one of the longest government shutdowns in US history, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warning of "mass chaos" earlier Tuesday due to a lack of air traffic control staff.

"You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don't have the air traffic controllers," Duffy told reporters.

In a statement on X, Duffy called footage of the crash "heartbreaking," adding: "Please join me in prayer for the Louisville community and flight crew impacted by this horrific crash."

That crash, which ended the US' 16-year streak of no fatal commercial air crashes, has added to concerns about the air traffic control system, which some regard as an understaffed operation beset by problems with old equipment.