12:55 p.m. Jul 20, 1998 Eastern
ASMARA, July 20 (Reuters) - Ukrainian officials arrived in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Monday to investigate the crash of a Ukrainian cargo plane near the city on Friday.
A team of investigators from the Ukrainian Civil Aviation Authority will work with Eritrean aviation experts, a government official said.
The Iluyshin Il-78 crashed in the early hours of Friday morning into a hillside nine km (six miles) from Asmara. All 10 crew members were killed.
The plane aborted its first attempt at landing and was circling round for a second attempt when it crashed, the official said.
The Eritrean News Agency briefly mentioned the crash on Friday but gave no details of what was on board the plane. A foreign ministry official said it was the first time a civilian plane had crashed in Eritrea.
A Ukrainian Il-76 cargo plane crashed in the United Arab Emirates last Monday. The Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry said Ukraine had grounded all its Ilyushin Il-76 and Il-78 aircraft until the causes of the two crashes were cleared up.