An-74 freight plane of Ukraine's CAVOK Air airline has crashed in Sao Tome and Principe Island in Central Africa, and the plane crew was injured, Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Lavreniuk has said.

"An hour ago An-74 freight plane of Ukraine's CAVOK Air airline crashed while taking off from Sao Tome Island. The preliminary information is that birds hit the right airplane engine when the plane was taking off," Lavreniuk wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.

"All crew members are alive, but injured. We are following up the situation," he said.

CAVOK Air was founded in 2011 in Kyiv. In 2012, the airline received a certificate from the State Aviation Service of Ukraine. The airline provides cargos, special and charter cargos transportation services.