Four dead after plane crashes in flames at airport
Flights from Southend have been redirected to other London airports today
The scene at Southend Airport in Essex, where four people died when a plane crashed shortly after take off
(Image: PA )
Four people died in a plane crash at London Southend Airport on Sunday. Essex Police have confirmed that the plane crashed just before 4pm and involved "one 12-metre plane" which was flying to the Netherlands.
The plane crashed shortly after take-off when it veered to the left and crashed just inside the airport parameter. As investigation work on the site of the crash continues, no flights have been able to take-off or arrive at the airport today and the airport confirmed it would stay closed "until further notice".
Essex Police chief superintendent Morgan Cronin confirmed that all four people onboard the plane died.
"Yesterday afternoon, an aircraft which had landed here earlier in the day took off bound for the Netherlands," he told a press conference.
"Shortly after take-off, it got into difficulty and crashed within the airport boundary. Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died.
"We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals.
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"Our thoughts are with the families and their colleagues at this tragic time, I can promise that those who have passed away will be treated with the utmost care and dignity."
The plane had flown from Athens to Pula, in Croatia, on Sunday before heading to Southend where it was supposed to return to the Netherlands that evening.
Passengers outside the terminal building at Southend Airport in Essex
(Image: PA )
Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been "involved in an accident" at the airport. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
The Beech B200 Super King Air has been described as the "Land Rover of the skies" and is used for a variety of things like medical evacuation, moving transplant material and aerial mapping.
Eye witnesses have described seeing a "fireball" and photos on social media showed a plume of fire and black smoke coming from the site of the crash.
The Essex airport has been closed since the crash yesterday afternoon and the 20 EasyJet flights and two Eastern Airways which were scheduled to arrive and depart from the airport today have been mostly rerouted to different London airports.
The airport has confirmed that six will fly to and from Gatwick and seven to and from Luton.
Chief superintendent Morgan Cronin continued: "Our detectives and forensic teams are working in parallel with air accident investigators, the Royal Air Force, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and London Southend Airport to build an accurate picture of what happened.
"To aid our investigation, the Civil Aviation Authority has put in place a significant air exclusion zone surrounding the crash site.
"We're also speaking with dozens of witnesses, some of whom have already provided video footage, and we'd like to thank them for their help. I know this would be an extremely distressing scene for them.
"I know there will be a lot of questions about what happened here yesterday. We are doing all we can to establish the facts and get those answers.
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"We will provide further updates as soon as we practically can."
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