Seven Feared Dead in Space Shuttle Disaster

The space shuttle Columbia appears to have broken up in flames over North Texas. It is feared that all seven crew members, six Americans and an Israeli, have been killed.

The American space agency Nasa said that all communications were lost as the shuttle was flying at approximately 12,500 miles per hour, just sixteen minutes before it was due to land at the Kennedy space centre. The space agency has not yet confirmed the fate of the shuttle but plans to issue a further public statement shortly.

Local residents in North Texas have 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.

Gary Hunziker in Plano, Texas, said he saw the shuttle flying overhead. "I could see two bright objects flying off each side of it. I just assumed they were chase jets."

"The barn started shaking and we ran out and started looking around," said Benjamin Laster of Kemp, Texas. "I saw a puff of vapour and smoke and saw big chunk of material fall."

Nasa warned people on the ground in Texas to stay away from any fallen debris.

President George W. Bush was informed of the situation. Bush administration officials said that they were awaiting updates from Nasa and that they had no immediate information that terrorism was involved. Security had been extraordinarily tight for Columbia's 16-day scientific research mission because of the presence of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut

This was the 113th flight in the shuttle program's 22 years and the 28th flight for Columbia, NASA oldest shuttle. It is the second space shuttle disaster in sixteen years, following the loss of the Challenger space shuttle in January 1986.