Germany confirms DHL cargo plane struck unidentified object near Leipzig PHOTO

German authorities have confirmed that a DHL cargo aircraft collided with an unidentified object while flying near Leipzig/Halle Airport.

A spokesman for Germany's Interior Ministry, Leonard Kaminski, said the aircraft had been due to land in Leipzig but was forced to abort its landing because it could not land there, Tass reports.

"The aircraft was due to land in Leipzig but then went around because it could not land there. It apparently collided with something and was subsequently able to land in Hanover," Kaminski told reporters at a briefing.

Earlier reports said a drone carrying a small package fitted with a detonator was discovered overnight on the airfield at Leipzig/Halle Airport, close to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. Shortly afterwards, another cargo aircraft reportedly collided with an unidentified object about 6 km from the airport at an altitude of around 400 metres. After landing in Hanover, minor damage was found to the front section of the aircraft.

According to the German newspaper Bild, citing security sources in the federal state of Saxony, NATO experts are expected to participate in the investigation into the drone incident at the airport.

The newspaper said authorities are treating the incident with the utmost seriousness. It reported that the drone found near the Ukrainian cargo aircraft was carrying explosives inside a small package. X-ray scans allegedly showed the package was fitted with a detonator, but no explosion occurred because of a technical fault.

By Aghakazim Guliyev