The authorities said in statement that it was an Illyushin 76 cargo aircraft which crashed into the Lake Victoria soon after taking off from the airport at 5:14 a.m. local time (0214 GMT). It was scheduled to fly from Entebbe to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia in East Africa.

    Officials were quoted as saying the plane has gone down deep into the lake.

    The plane was registered as S9-SAB, operated by Aerolift and chartered by Dynacorp. It was carrying tents and water purification equipment for the African Union Mission in Somalia when the accident happened.

    There were nearly 34,00 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi in Somalia.

    The civil aviation organ said the Entebbe Airport and Uganda People's Defense Force's Marine Search and Rescue teams immediately went to the scene where the plane crashed and sank. Salvage efforts are underway.

    The identities and nationalities of the crew and passengers will be disclosed after their relatives have been informed, the authorities added.

    It was still unclear what caused the accident. The civil aviation authority has said an investigation team is being constituted by the minister of Works and Transport to determine the probable cause of the accident.

    Captain Tabaro Kiconco, Ugandan air force spokesman, has told Xinhua before by telephone that there were about 10 people aboard, including three Burundians, one Ugandan soldier, four crew members and two civilians.

    The three Burundians were top officers, including a general and a colonel, the reports said. Kiconco also confirmed those aboard included a general.

    A radio source told Xinhua that the medium size cargo plane caught fire during the takeoff and fell into Lake Victoria.

    According to agency's reports. An official from the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority said that the transport minister will issue a statement later.

    Entebbe is Uganda's major international airport which is 40 km south of the Ugandan capital Kampala.