A small jet crashed and sent a flame into the sky, forcing Southend Airport to close “until further notice”.
The East of England Ambulance Service and Essex Police are responding to the airport incident, and a cordon is expected to be in place overnight.
A Beech B200 Super King Air, which had arrived from Croatia earlier in the day, was reportedly departing the airport for Lelystad, the Netherlands, according to flight monitoring data.
John Johnson, a witness who was at the airport with his wife and kids, claimed to have seen a “large fireball” following the plane’s “head-first impact with the ground.”
A spokesperson for Southend Airport said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by today’s events and all passengers impacted by this disruption.
“We will restart flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on developments.”
Labour MP for Southend West, David Burton-Sampson, wrote on X: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport. Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work. My thoughts are with everyone involved.”
To “establish what has happened and why,” Essex Police stated that it was collaborating with the Air Accident Investigation Branch.
Shortly before 16:00 BST on Sunday, Essex Police said that they had received a report of a 12-meter plane on fire at the Southend-on-Sea location.
Travellers scheduled to depart on Monday should get in touch with their airline, according to Southend Airport, which promised to keep the public informed of any developments. The number of casualties had not been verified.
On Sunday, the aircraft took off from Athens, the capital of Greece, and travelled to Pula, Croatia, before continuing to Southend. It was scheduled to return to Lelystad Airport that evening.
Officials have not officially confirmed the type of aircraft; however, reports indicate that the plane that crashed was a Beech B200 Super King Air.
The reaction is anticipated to take several hours, according to police, who said they are collaborating closely with other emergency services at the incident site. While the construction is underway, they have advised the public to avoid the area.
Large flames and dense black smoke are seen rising from the airport crash site in pictures that have been circulated online. The footage from the golf course, where the plane allegedly crashed minutes after takeoff, was also included in the recordings.
The plane is owned by Zeusch Aviation, a Dutch airline that offers private charter flights, organ transportation, and medical evacuation services.
Zeusch Aviation has acknowledged that flight SUZ1, which crashed, was one of their aircraft. The business stated that it is working with investigators and would provide additional details as they become available.