London Southend Airport remains closed until further notice following a devastating plane crash that took place on Sunday, its chief executive Jude Winstanley said during a press conference.
It was shortly before 16:00 BST when the Essex Police was alerted to a 12-metre plane on fire at the site in the north of Southend-on-Sea, with the Dutch company Zeusch Aviation confirmed their SUZ1 flight being “involved in an accident.”
“We can confirm that Zeusch Aviation flight SUZ1 was involved in an accident today at London Southend Airport,” their statement read. “We are actively supporting the authorities with the investigation and will provide updates on this page as more information becomes available. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected.”
According to reports, the plane departed Athens, the capital of Greece, and flew to Pula, Croatia, then to Southend. It was intended to return to Lelystad that evening.
John Johnson from Billericay, Essex, witnessed the plane crashing “head first into the ground” and turning into a “huge fireball.”
“You could see [the pilots] smiling and we all kind of smiled back. The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take-off point, powered up its engines and powered past us, carrying on down the runway,” he told the BBC.
“It took off in probably three or four seconds. It started to bank heavily to its left.
“I said to my wife, ‘That’s unusual.’ We don’t find aircraft normally turning at that stage in their ascent.
“Within a few seconds of that, the aircraft almost inverted and hit the ground. There was a huge fireball.”
Fire crews from Southend, Rayleigh Weir and Basildon, along with off road vehicles from Billericay and Chelmsford arrived at the scene in no time.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “Four ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, four Hazardous Area Response Team vehicles, three senior paramedic cars and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance were sent to Southend Airport responding to reports of an incident involving an airplane.”
Unfortunately, all four of the people who were on board lost their lives. Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said they believe the deceased were foreign nationals. Their identities haven’t been revealed yet.
The investigation regarding the reasons that led to the plane crashing is ongoing.
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