SHARJAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (BNO NEWS) — A Boeing 707 cargo plane crashed near Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, officials told BNO News.

The crash happened around 3.30 p.m. local time as the aircraft was taking off from the airport, according to an airport official. He said the plane went down in the desert about two miles north of the runway.

“Aircraft crashes on takeoff from Sharjah. Seeing plumes of smoke as we speak. Part fell off on takeoff,” Albert Dias wrote on Twitter after apparently witnessing the crash. “Sirens wailing. It appears to have crashed just off the Emirates highway between Ajman and Sharjah,” Dias added in a second update.

It was not immediately clear which airliner was involved in the crash, but an airport official said it involved a Sudanese airliner. “It’s a Sudanese company, but I don’t have information on the name,” he said.

A crew of six people were on board the plane when it went down. “Unfortunately there were no survivors,” the official said, while adding there were no casualties on the ground as it crashed in the desert with no residential buildings nearby.

The official refused to speculate about the possible cause of the crash, but said details on the cause of the crash would be released after a full investigation.

Dias, on Twitter, described the aircraft as having red and green stripes, matching the description of a Boeing 707-330C aircraft from Sudan-based Azza Air Transport. Flight records for the airport did not show any scheduled flights from Azza Air Transport for Wednesday.

According to the airport’s website, a Southern Air, Inc. plane was scheduled to take-off from the airport at 3.30 p.m. local time but the U.S.-based airline denied its aircraft was involved.

The airport official said the cargo plane was flying to Khartoum International Airport, Sudan’s capital.

“The aircraft appeared to have lost what looked like a panel and could well have been a stabilizer on the left wing. The aircraft swerved steadily to the right and lost altitude seconds after takeoff,” Dias further wrote on Twitter.

Pictures from at least several miles away showed a large cloud of smoke rising above the area.

In 2004, an Iranian plane crashed at the airport, killing 43 people.