BREAKING NEWS: An American Airlines passenger airliner has crashed into a residential area of New York, sparking fears of a new terrorist attack.

The Airbus A300 was on its way out of the city's John F Kennedy airport when it crashed in the Rockway Beach area of Queens Borough, starting fires in several buildings.

New York's three airports, as well as all bridges and tunnels, have been closed as a precaution, and mayor Giuliani has declared a level-one security alert.

Neither the cause of the crash, nor the number of passengers on board is known, but planes of this type can carry up to 285 passengers.

Pictures show a huge cloud of black smoke emanating from the site of the crash.

Terrorists crashed two aircraft into New York's World Trade Centre towers on September 11th, earlier this year.

November 12, 2001 15:30