Kampala  - Recovery operations were still going on into the afternoon Monday after a Russian-built plane crashed into Lake Victoria earlier in the day, with up to 11 persons feared dead, officials said.

"As we talk now, the rescue team has not fished out the bodies and the plane wreckage," Information Minister Kabakumba Matsiko said. "The mission is still going on."

The government said that among those feared dead int eh crash of the Ilyushin plane were the four Russian crew members, along with three Burundia army officers, a South African UN staff member, and an Indian and Ugandan national.

The cargo plane had taken off from Entebbe airport but then burst into flames and crashed into a fishing boat on the lake, 9 kilometres to the south, and sank. The fishermen survived the accident.

"The team is still investigating and looking out for options and theories until the truth is got. The names of the dead will not be released until their families are informed," Matsiko said.

The ill-fated plane was bringing tents and water treatment equipment to Somalia. Uganda and Burundi have sent close to 5,000 troops to Somalia under the African Union mission to restore order in the country. (dpa)