Nasa space shuttle lost on re-entry

The American space agency Nasa says it has lost contact with the space shuttle Columbia shortly before it was due to land at the Kennedy space centre. There were seven crew members abroad.

Nasa has declared an emergency, and search and rescue teams have been mobilised. A Nasa spokesman from Mission Control, Houston said that communications were lost as the shuttle was flying at approximately 12,500 miles per hour, sixteen minutes before it was due to land. The spokesman warned the public to beware of any falling debris related to the emergency, as this could prove toxic.

Local residents in North Texas reported hearing a "big bang" similar to a sonic boom and seeing debris falling to the ground, leading to growing fears that the shuttle has broken up on re-rentry. Nasa has not confirmed the fate of the shuttle.

The seven crew members include six Americans and the first Israeli to go into space.

President George W. Bush was informed of the situation and awaited updates from Nasa. Bush administration officials said that they had no immediate information that terrorism was involved.