Harriet HeywoodBBC News, Essex
Aerial video showed the plane crash site and wreckage
London Southend Airport will remain closed until further notice after a plane crashed in what witnesses described as a “fireball”.
Essex Police said it was alerted to a plane on fire at the site in Southend-on-Sea shortly before 16: 00 BST on Sunday.
On its website, the airport said all Monday’s flights – departures and arrivals – had been “rerouted”. It urged passengers to check with their airline for advice.
There has been no confirmation of the number of casualties.
Smoke rises at Southend Airport after the plane crash
Dutch company Zeusch Aviation confirmed that its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at the airport.
Based at Lelystad Airport in The Netherlands, the company said it was actively supporting authorities with the investigation, and that its thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected”.
The plane had flown from the Greek capital Athens to Pula in Croatia on Sunday before heading to Southend, with a planned return to Lelystad Airport that evening.
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A family, who waved as the plane took off, said they witnessed a “huge fireball” coming from the site of the incident
John Johnson, 40, from Billericay, Essex, was watching planes with his wife and children when he saw a “huge fireball” after the plane crashed “head first into the ground”.
“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.”
He called 999 to report the incident.
‘Running towards it’
Frazer Brooks
East of England Ambulance Service and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene
James Philpott, a bartender at the Rochford Hundred G
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