Managua  - A small passenger plane crashed into two cows that had strayed onto the runway of an airport in southern Nicaragua, local media reported Thursday.

The plane was travelling to Managua with nine passengers on board. There were no injuries reported - of either human beings or cows.

The incident took place late Wednesday at San Carlos airport, in the province of Rio San Juan. The cows ambled onto the runway just as the local La Costena plane was getting ready to take off.

"The passengers felt the impact and kept their cool, while the pilot manoeuvred until he got the small plane to halt in the muddy area around the runway," the daily El Nuevo Diario reported.

The report quoted the army commander in the region as saying that the authorities had inspected the runway five minutes before the accident and "everything was fine. But the cows appeared all of a sudden." (dpa)