At least five people have died after a National Guard cargo plane crashed near an airport in Savannah, Georgia.

An official from the Georgia Air National Guard confirmed the fatalities after the C-130J aircraft went down at the intersection of Highway 21 and Crossgate Road at around 11.30am local time on Wednesday.

A photo tweeted by the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association showed its wrecked tail end, with a plume of black smoke rising from the wreckage and fire spreading through a roadside field.

Image: Emergency services on the scene, working to clear the wreckage. Pic: IAFF574 Savannah

Emergency services were called to the scene a few miles from Savannah Hilton Head International Airport.

The plane was from the Air National Guard 156th Air Wing based in Puerto Rico and was bound for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.


Image: Smoke could be seen from a nearby outlet mall. Pic: Minh Phan

Local roads were closed and some flights at the airport - from where the smoke is visible - have been affected.

Gena Bilbo, from Effingham County Sheriff's Office, told a press conference that parts of Highway 21 could be closed for weeks, with nearby train tracks also damaged.

"As far as we know, no cars were hit which is an absolute miracle," she added.

Image: Parts of the highway could be closed for weeks

A spokesman for the Georgia Air National Guard, Captain Jeffrey Bezore, said the four-engine aircraft, which had five people on board, was on a training mission.

He added: "The names will be released upon notification of next-of-kin. A board of officers will investigate the accident."

The plane was a weather reconnaissance version of the C-130J, used to penetrate tropical depressions, hurricanes and winter storms to gather data.