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Tragic new details after ‘fireball' plane crash

Tragic new details after ‘fireball' plane crash

Perth Now14-07-2025
A medical transport plane has crashed at London Southend Airport, bursting into flames shortly after takeoff. The small aircraft, operated by a Dutch company, was returning to the Netherlands when disaster struck.
Four people have died after a small aircraft crashed and caught fire moments after taking off from London Southend Airport, according to UK authorities.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation, was en route to the Netherlands when it encountered difficulties and crashed within the airport boundary, Essex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
The plane had previously flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula, Croatia, before heading to Southend.
It was due to return to its home base of Lelystad, in the Netherlands, on Sunday evening.
The 12-metre-long turboprop plane came down moments after take-off and burst into flames.
'Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died,' Cronin said.
'We are working to officially confirm their identities.'
Two Dutch pilots and a Chilean nurse were among those on board, according to a document which lists passengers, the PA news agency understands.
Zeusch Aviation operates medical evacuation and transplant flights as well as aerial mapping and private charters, according to its website.
The company said that 'it is with deep sadness that we confirm there were no survivors among the four people on board flight SUZ1'.
Southend Airport, which is located about 56km east of the capital and used by easyJet to fly to European holiday destinations, will remain closed until further notice, the airport's CEO Jude Winstanley said.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which investigates civil aircraft accidents, said it was 'too early' to determine what caused the crash.
It has deployed eight inspectors to the site.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, first built in the 1970s, is an aviation workhorse used for a wide variety of roles around the world.
In 2017, a plane of the same model crashed into the roof of a shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia moments after take-off, killing the pilot and four US tourists.
with Reuters AP and PA
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Which European destination is best? We rate and rank the key rivals
Which European destination is best? We rate and rank the key rivals

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Which European destination is best? We rate and rank the key rivals

Travel trends come and go (hello, Japan) but some destinations never fall out of favour. Australians' love affair with Europe is so enduring that each year, hundreds of thousands of us sit inside a plane for 24 hours for the opportunity to experience and explore this beguiling continent. For many, it's the diversity that is addictive. Europe is a place where you can have a sun-soaked summer holiday or throw yourself into an array of snow sports in the winter. It's a place where you can dip in and out of countless cultures, from the design-forward, down-to-earth style of the Scandinavians to the chilled-out charm of the Mediterranean. Spend enough time in Europe, however, and you will realise that some destinations share a lot in common – and that means making some hard choices. If you want some sun-drenched summer fun with a side serve of history, should you go island hopping in Greece or instead spend some time exploring Turkey's Aegean coast? 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See Kosovo vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Two of Europe's smallest (and youngest) countries have fraught histories, but both are also underrated destinations. The Bosnian capital of Sarajevo is a real East-West melting pot, while Kosovo's capital of Pristina makes for a surprisingly lively city break. See

Which European destination is best? We rate and rank the key rivals
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Which European destination is best? We rate and rank the key rivals

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timea day ago

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Asia's best cheap hotels? Two surprising cities go head-to-head

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For fun, ask for a written guarantee for the "Rolex" and watch the shopkeeper duck like a CEO at a Coldplay concert. Indonesia is rightly proud of its independence. If you thought getting Western Australians on board with Federation was tough, try throwing off the yoke of colonial European and Japanese wartime occupation, and uniting 300 million people spread across 17,000 islands. This incredible story is told at a museum at the base of Monas (the National Monument of Indonesia). The most iconic landmark in Jakarta, Monas is topped with a sculpture of a golden flame, and the 130-metre-high observation deck offers the best views in town. The Selamat Datang Monument is another much-loved sculpture, erected in 1962 to symbolise the nation's sense of identity and opening up following independence. "Selamat datang" means "welcome" and provides a useful segue to greet today's guest co-columnist, Mark Dapin. Mark is filling in for Amy Cooper, who is taking a week off to throw a haggis or some such bollocks with her family in the northern UK. This is a tough first gig for Mark. Kuala Lumpur, which means "muddy river confluence", is steamier than a noodle stall and in desperate need of navigable footpaths. Still, at least he wasn't tasked with defending Kabul, Ryanair or Mark Latham. Kuala Lumpur: The delicious, dazzling, dirt-cheap dream city Props to Mal for defending the indefensible - but that's only ever going to end one way, isn't it? I've always had a soft spot for Kuala Lumpur, and it's somewhere near my wallet. The city boasts some of the cheapest decent hotels in the world: on a good night, you can pick up a queen room at a Hilton Garden Inn for an amazing $44. Good pubs in Jakarta are generally pricier and more business-oriented, because nobody ever goes there on holiday. Malaysian Indian cuisine is the best food on the planet, and ideally eaten from a banana-leaf "plate" at a banana leaf rice restaurant in KL's (very) little India, Brickfields. Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Pictures by Shutterstock Cluey diners will mix and mash a meat curry, a scoop of dahl and a palette of vegetable side dishes into one single glorious affirmation of the supremacy of South Asian spices, and wash it all down with a glass of lime juice. And local Malaysian street food specialties may well be the second biggest collection of edible treats on Earth. Roti canai and murtabak are peerless in the panoply of bread, and you can eat like a sultan of the streets for less than $5. Like Jakarta, KL has a large number of shopping malls. These are not so good for the wallet but great for public toilets, although Nike running shoes are sometimes significantly cheaper than in Australia. Yes, Jakarta has the Monas, an unimaginative and unlovely cloud spike that could only be less attractive if it were topped by a revolving restaurant and a Westfield logo. But KL luxuriates in the Petronas Twin Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world, and still as fine an elongated representation of two duelling daleks as the human mind can conceive. As Malaysia was once a British colony, KL has grand colonial buildings, which often borrow elegantly from "Moorish" traditions. Check out the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the former seat of government, which sits opposite the mock-Tudor Royal Selangor Club. Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is another striking piece of architecture in which, rather fittingly, east meets west. And yes, Jakarta does have a smattering of remnant Dutch colonial architecture, but let's say the silent part out loud, shall we? As everybody knows but nobody has the guts to point out, Dutch colonial architecture is boring. The entire population of metropolitan KL speaks some sort of English, and the city is incredibly safe - unlike Jakarta where a becak driver once chased me into a guesthouse, demanding a higher fare. So I'm sorry, Mal, but like poor Tim Tszyu, you picked the wrong opponent: not in me but in Kuala Lumpur, the city that makes Jakarta look worse than a confluence of muddy rivers.

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