Pictured: Jumbo jet splits in two as it tries to take-off

The accident happened as the cargo plane tried to take off at Brussels' Zaventem airport.

The plane narrowly escaped landing on a railway line as it came crashing onto the tarmac.

The Boeing 747's five crew all escaped via an inflatable emergency slide on the American Kalitta plane on Sunday.

Split in two: The plane soared off the runway and narrowly missed a railway line

"The accident happened during take-off of the plane, which was going from Brussels to Bahrain," a Zaventem airport spokeswoman said.

"We don't know what caused it, there is an investigation under way."

Fire brigade spokesman Francis Boileau said that four of the crew had minor injuries.

The plane was carrying cars and was full of fuel.

Lucky escape: The crew of the cargo plane only suffered minor injuries

It came to a halt some 200 metres from the runway and only 10 metres from a railway line.

"There was a danger of an explosion just after the accident because it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it, and there was a big leak when it broke," Boileau said.

"We see from the tracks on the runway that the pilot tried to stop the aircraft because he understood he could not bring it up into the air, and he drove it off the runway."

The Kalitta Air company's website says it is a Michigan Limited Liability Company owned by Conrad Kalitta.

It started in November 2000 with three Boeing 747 aircraft and the fleet has grown to a present total of 18 B747 freighters.

Emergency: Rescue services arrive at Brussels's Zaventem airport