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An aircraft has crashed into the sea off Ivory Coast, shortly after taking off from the international airport of the main city Abidjan, with reports of several dead or injured people.

It was a cargo plane carrying freight for the French army, security sources told local news site Koaci.

Reports suggest it was a Ukrainian or Russian turboprop Antonov plane.

It crashed in heavy rain and the wreckage was swept back towards the shore near Port-Bouët.

At least four people were killed, a witness told Reuters news agency.

Rescue workers have removed two bodies from the plane while a further two could be seen in the wreckage, the agency says.

Other reports suggest that several members of the crew survived.