The scene of the crash. Screenshot Screenshot

A SMALL PLANE has crashed beside a supermarket near Lisbon, Portugal, killing four people on board the aircraft and one on the ground.

Four others received minor injuries, emergency services said.

Reports suggest the plane may have exploded in mid-air.

The dead were the Swiss pilot, three French passengers on the plane and a Portuguese truck driver, emergency services operational commander Miguel Cruz told The Associated Press.

The Swiss-registered plane crashed shortly after taking off takeoff from Tires aerodrome, about 20 kilometers west of the Portuguese capital, Cruz said.

The truck driver was offloading his cargo at the supermarket’s rear cargo bay, which is about two kilometers from the runway, when the plane crashed near him. His truck was in flames.

The injured were shopping inside the supermarket, which is located in a residential neighborhood, and were treated for shock and smoke inhalation.

About three dozen firefighting vehicles were sent to the scene, officials said.

The Tires airfield said the plane was a twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft. The airfield was closed as authorities opened an investigation.

More details as we get them.