A Ukraine-built Antonov An-32, a twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft with five crew on board crashed in the early hours in Athurugiriya, 18 kilometres from Sri Lanka's capital.

The military aircraft was flying to Ratmalana, the domestic airport, from the country's main international airport in Katunayake.

An Air Force spokesman said the crash may have occurred due to poor weather and that the last communication from the flight was that the pilot could not see Ratmalana airport due to the poor visibility.

Police said four of the crew members died and one survived.

The crash damaged three houses but no civilians were injured, police said.

At least five An-32 flights have crashed in Sri Lanka so far since 1995, many of them during the island nation's 26-year war that ended in May 2009.

The last military flight crash was reported in 2009 when a Russian built MI-24 helicopter crashed in a training mission killing four people on board, official records showed.