A PLANE HAS crashed near the runway at Malta International Airport, killing all five people onboard.
Footage from the scene shows that the plane burst into flames.
The small passenger aircraft crashed on takeoff at Malta’s international airport this morning, killing all on board, officials said.
In a statement, the airport said the aircraft, a Fairchild Metroliner turboprop, was involved in an accident “upon takeoff.”
“We can confirm that the five crew on board are deceased,” it said, adding that the airport was closed until further notice and an investigation was underway.
Dashcam footage of incident showed the plane crash-landing:
Early media reports said the plane had been chartered by the European Union’s border control agency, Frontex, for a flight to Libya.
Frontex issued a swift denial, and the EU’s foreign policy representative, Federica Mogherini, said no European official had been onboard.
“No #EU officials involved in plane crash in #Malta. The flight was not related to any of the EU activities,” said Mogherini in a tweet.
The Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, confirmed that there were casualties on board the plane.
The incident occurred at 7.20am, said a statement from the airport on Twitter:
Additional reporting - © AFP, 2016
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