LISHUI, CHINA, Nov 8 (BNO NEWS): A plane crashed near a city in eastern China on early Monday evening, state-run media reported on Tuesday, but only few details were released. It is unknown if there are casualties.

The accident happened just after 6 p.m. local time when a plane crashed and exploded near the city of Lishui in Zhejiang province. Government officials declined to say what type of aircraft was involved, but said it was not a passenger plane.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, witnesses described seeing an aircraft fall from the sky before it crashed into a hill. Emergency services rushed to the scene and cordoned off a large area, Xinhua said.

A brief report which aired on state-run television showed a large plume of smoke rising from the crash site. It showed a local highway had been cordoned off with several people standing on the roadway.

It is unknown how many people were on board the aircraft.