
Terrifying surveillance video captured the moment a military cargo plane nose-dived into a busy Georgia highway on Tuesday after stalling in the air not long after it had taken off.

The C-130 Hercules cargo plane crashed Wednesday at the intersection of Highway 21 and Crossgate Road at 11.30am on Wednesday morning.

It did not strike any cars on the road which, authorities say, is a 'miracle' given the time of day.

The plane belongs to the 156th Airlift Wing which is based at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It had just taken off from Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah when it crashed.

The National Guard said at first there were five people onboard at the time. Local Georgia station WTOC cites sources who claimed there were nine people on the aircraft.

It was carrying out a training mission and was on its way to Tucson, Arizona, when it went down. The cause of the crash is not yet known but witnesses said it appeared to stall in the air.

The crash was captured on the surveillance cameras from a nearby business. The business owner shared it online afterwards.

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Terrifying surveillance footage from a local business filmed the National Guard C-130 as it nose-dived on Wednesday not long after taking off from Savannah Hilton Head Airport

After it vanished, a plume of fire and smoke wafted up from behind the buildings

This was the aftermath on the highway after the plane went down. It was entirely destroyed and debris was scattered across the four lanes and beyond

Drivers who were heading southbound on the highway watched as the plane crashed in their path then, once it had hit the ground, abandoned their vehicles to look for survivors

Terrifying videos taken by witnesses who watched from the road as the plane crashed into the road in front of them showed the fiery site afterwards.

Motorists who were driving at the time got out of their vehicles to frantically look for survivors afterwards and filmed themselves going through the woods to try to find anyone who had made it out alive.

The wreckage was strewn not only across the highway but also on train tracks which run adjacent to the road.

The trains were shut down while authorities worked at the scene on Wednesday afternoon.

One witness described the 'fireball' explosion which occurred seconds after the plane hit the ground.

No cars were hit which is is an absolute miracle Gena Bilbo, Effingham County Sheriff's Office

'The explosion, it was indescribable. It covered all 4 lanes and more.

'There was just a huge fireball of God knows what,' the man, who was not named, told Fox 5.

Chelsea Sinclair, who works at a nearby Parker's, told local newspaper The News Observer: 'It went nose-first down. We were seeing a bunch of black smoke.'

Surveillance footage filmed from a business near the site shows the aircraft nose-diving and disappearing from view behind some buildings before a huge cloud of fire and smoke erupts.

The National Guard said in a statement not long after the crash: 'While performing a training mission, an U.S. C-130 Hercules cargo plane from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed about 11:30 a.m. today near the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport with 5 people on board,' the National Guard said in a statement.

'Personnel are on the scene responding. A board of officers will investigate the accident.'

Video courtesy of WTOC

A National Guard cargo plane from Puerto Rico crashed in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday morning during a training mission, killing all five people on board

Emergency services are pictured working at Highway 21 in Savannah after the crash on Wednesday. There are not thought to have been any survivors

Huge plumes of black smoke billowed from the crash site on Wednesday morning. The incident happened around 15 miles from Savannah's airport

This was the view of the road for motorists as they drove towards the crash. One, whose pictures are shown above, started filming after it had hit the ground

The plane was from Air Wing 156 which is stationed at Muniz Air National Guard Base in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It had taken off from Savannah's Hilton Head International Airport when it crashed

Drivers who got out of their cars after watching in horror as the plane crash searched for survivors on the train tracks next to the road. One bystander filmed her partner (right) as the group yelled: 'Is there anybody out there' towards the bushes and woodland

The crash happened next to a train track and over a wooded area which caught fire as a result of the burning debris

Later, Georgia's National Guard spokesman confirmed the death toll.

The plane crashed at the intersection of Georgia 21 and Crossgate Road which is around 15 miles from Savannah Airport. The crash has shut down electricity and trains in the area and is likely to impact airport travel.

'As far as we know there were no cars hit in this crash. It is an absolute miracle at that time of day and at this intersection,' Gena Bilbo, public information officer for Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, said.

'The explosion, it was indescribable. It covered all 4 lanes and more. There was just a huge fireball of God knows what

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport said on social media that some flights were being affected though the crash happened off its property.

The airport advised passengers to check with their airline for updated flight information.

The 156th Airlift Wing in Puerto Rico is home to the Bucaneros- 1,200 National Guardsmen and women are bilingual.

The C-130 is a four engine turboprop military transport plane with a payload of 45,000lbs. It is considerable in size at 92ft long and with a wingspan of 132ft.

None of the five servicemen or women onboard have been identified.

'Anytime we lose any of our brother and sisters in arms it's devastating.

'It's something we never like to have happen, but were still here to do a job and to continue on with the missions we have to do,' Master Sgt. Roger Parsons said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

The plane was a Lockheed C-130 Hercules which is a four-engine turboprop military plane with a wingspan of 132ft. It is 92ft long and has a payload of 45,000lbs. A file image of a C-130 is shown above

Smoke rises in the distant where an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane crashed