A small plane was forced to land on Interstate 26 in North Carolina Thursday night near the Asheville Regional Airport. The plane caught fire and caused a massive traffic jam on the highway. North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson David Uchiyama said Interstate-26 West was “closed indefinitely at Airport Road” following the forced landing. “According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office‚ multiple people were taken to the hospital‚” WLOS News 13 reports. Here’s footage: #BREAKING: we’re at the scene of a PLANE CRASH ON I-26. Very limited info. Not clear how many ppl are hurt. Follow me on here and Facebook for updates. @WLOS_13 #NorthCarolina #asheville pic.twitter.com/dbRUntnOhr — Marc Liverman (@MarcLiverman) December 15‚ 2023 “Not clear what type of plane it was that crashed or how many people were onboard. Almost nothing left of that plane‚” WLOS News 13 reporter Marc Liverman said. Not clear what type of plane it was that crashed or how many people were onboard. Almost nothing left of that plane. pic.twitter.com/5uchqgnPLA — Marc Liverman (@MarcLiverman) December 15‚ 2023 WLOS News 13 reports: An airport spokesperson said the aircraft reported problems and said it needed assistance. It then landed on the interstate between Long Shoals and Airport roads. It’s unclear when the fire started. The airport deployed a fire truck for mutual aid‚ airport officials said. Skyland Fire and Rescue‚ the North Carolina State Highway Patrol‚ Asheville Police Department and Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office were on scene. As of 7 a.m.‚ NCDOT officials estimate the road will reopen about 8:30 a.m. Friday. On Thursday night‚ dozens of motorists had passed the detour exit and were stuck in traffic for hours. WATCH: Apparently a plane almost crashed on me while driving on I26 in Asheville‚ NC pic.twitter.com/5nqV1kndHV — Reed Timmer‚ PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) December 15‚ 2023 I26N at Asheville‚ NC still closed due to plane crash until tomorrow. We may be spending the night out here in this zipper traffic jam. Officials attempting to turn around the entire lane pic.twitter.com/M7Oe1P5CGm — Reed Timmer‚ PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) December 15‚ 2023 Asheville Citizen Times added: Buncombe County Emergency Services‚ firefighters from Skyland Fire Department and an Asheville Airport public safety officer responded to the fiery scene. “We transported two people out of the plane crash‚ but there does not appear to be any life-threatening injuries‚” Allen Morgan‚ Buncombe County on-duty EMS supervisor told the Citizen Times. “We are mobilizing NCDOT and contract crews to examine the roadway once it is safe to do so. We will be checking to see if any repairs to the road surface need to be made and make those repairs as soon as possible‚” Uchiyama told the Citizen Times just after 9 p.m. “It is far too early to even guess when I-26 West will reopen.” Firefighters from Skyland Fire Department and an Asheville Airport public safety officer are responding to the scene. From WLOS News 13:

Horrifying video footage from a village council meeting in Ukraine’s Western Zakarpattia region shows a local official detonating multiple grenades inside a crowded room. Ukraine’s National Police is investigating the incident as a potential terror attack. “The incident occurred about 90 minutes into a livestreamed meeting in the Keretsky Village Council‚” the New York Post reports. “According to the preliminary information‚ at least one person was killed and 26 were wounded‚ including six in serious condition‚” The Kyiv Independent wrote. It’s unclear if the official who detonated the grenades was injured or killed. WARNING – GRAPHIC FOOTAGE: Here’s another version posted to X: JUST IN – Many injured after lawmaker detonates multiple grenades during a council meeting in Transcarpathia‚ western Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Vmi1sUPxKG — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 15‚ 2023 The Kyiv Independent reports: The police did not identify the suspected perpetrator of the bombing‚ but Ukrainska Pravda and other media outlets alleged that it was Serhii Batryn‚ a village council member of the Servant of the People party. The regional media outlet Zakarpattia24 shared a video in which Batryn complains about other local officials. Zakarpattia24 also said that Batryn had previously feuded with colleagues about a wartime pay increase for the head of the village council. Before he detonated the grenades‚ Batryn allegedly got into an argument with his coworkers about the issue‚ who refused to take his side. After the dispute‚ Zakarpattia24 said he left and returned with the grenades. “May I speak?” Batryn‚ the man allegedly responsible for the attack‚ asked before removing the grenades from his jacket pockets and tossing them on the floor‚ according to the New York Post. From the New York Post: Photos taken after the blast showed puddles of blood on the floor and overturned furniture. The explosion injured 26 people‚ six of whom were hospitalized in serious condition‚ according to officials. Ukraine’s Security Service is investigating the explosions as an act of terrorism. Batryn was initially said to have been killed‚ but police later clarified that doctors were trying to save his life. Friday’s council session was held to approve the village’s budget for 2024‚ but Batryn‚ a deputy from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party‚ argued that he and his colleagues should first give a full report on the 2023 budget before moving on to next year’s. Batryn also had a long-standing feud with village chief Mikhail Mushka‚ reported the news Telegram channel Zakarpattya24. Batryn had opposed a proposal to allocate a 50% raise and a monthly bonus for Mushka during the war‚ and had voted against deeming the village chief’s job performance satisfactory. At the height of the budget debate‚ Batryn walked out of the council headquarters and returned less then three minutes later to detonate the grenades.