A DHL-CHARTERED Russian cargo plane with engine and landing gear trouble made an emergency landing on a frozen lake, spilling 1.5 tons of fuel that risked polluting the drinking water of the Estonian capital of Tallinn, say authorities.
Emergency crews used absorbent mats and booms to recover leaking fuel to prevent it from contaminating the lake, which supplies 90 per cent of the drinking water use by the city`s 400,000 people, reported The Associated Press.
"The situation regarding water quality is under control at the moment," said a statement from the municipal water company, adding that additional chemicals to treat the water had been ordered.
One of the six crew suffered minor injuries and emergency workers were deploy to empty tanks before leaking fuel polluted the lake.
The Russian Antonov AN26 turboprop aircraft, en route from Finland to Estonia, landed on the ice of Lake Ulemiste just next to Tallinn, said a government spokesman.
"The plane is lying on the ice now, but it has started to sink slowly," he said, adding that the aircraft sustained minor damage on landing.
The spokesman said the plane was preparing to land at Tallinn`s airport when one part of the landing gear failed to lower. Later, on a second approach, an engine began to malfunction. The pilot then decided to land on frozen lake.
Crews used winches to keep the plane from sinking through the ice. It was not immediately clear how they would pull it from the lake.
The spokesman said it was "most unusual" that a plane would make an emergency landing on ice. "It was a dangerous situation because the ice on the lake had already started to melt," he said. "We`ve been very lucky to have had such a harsh winter."
The plane, owned by Polish air cargo company Exin Co Ltd, was chartered by DHL to fly between Tallinn and Helsinki.