VALLETTA // A light aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Malta on Monday, killing at least five people on board in the nation’s worst peacetime air accident, airport sources and witnesses said.
Airport officials initially said the plane was believed to be carrying officials from EU border agency Frontex. The organisation put out a statement saying it had not deployed the plane, but stopped short of saying whether its staff were on board.
The crash happened at about 7.30am (9.30am UAE), as the plane was heading for Misurata in Libya, said officials.
Television footage showed flames rising from wreckage near the runway, sending thick black smoke into the sky. All flights to and from Malta International Airport were halted. The airport reopened shortly before midday, local time.
Laurent Azzopardi, a commuter, captured the moment the plane fell from the sky and crashed in front of his car on his dashcam.
“On my way to the work this morning - a very shocking experience, a plane crash (very close),” he said.
Rescuers were looking for survivors. The plane, a twin-prop Metroliner, can carry about 10 people.
The Times of Malta said the plane had been leased from Luxembourg for use by Frontex officials.
There was no immediate news on the nationality of the victims.
* Reuters
