Four foreign nationals died in aircraft accident at London Southnd Airport

Four people who died when a small aircraft crashed at the London Southend Airport is considered as foreign nationals, the police have confirmed.

The airport has been closed since the emergency services for an incident related to a BEC B 200 Super King shortly before 16:00 BST on Sunday.

The witnesses described a “fireball” type of explosion soon after launching the Netherlands-bound light aircraft.

All four people were killed in the accident – two pilots and two passengers – and the Essex Police said at a press conference on Monday that they believed that they were foreign nationals.

The names of the four who died have not been released, but the authorities are now working to confirm their identity.

CH SUPT Morgan Cronin said the victims will be “treated with great respect and dignity”.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has placed an important air exclusion area around the crash site.

All Flights from airport on Monday Passengers are advised to investigate with their airline for advice.

The aircraft was operated by Zish Aviation located at the Lelestad Airport in the Netherlands, which confirmed it is “actively Supporting officers with investigation ”.

The aircraft was blown to casserole in Croatia before leaving Southnd on Sunday from Greek Capital Athens. It was due to returning to Lelestad on Sunday evening.

BBC reporter Sophia Betiya has been at the headquarters of Zish Aviation – a private -owned company that operates 14 aircraft.

“It is a small airport in the Netherlands, which is on an island east of Amsterdam – and today, it is almost deserted.

“We only saw the security staff of the airport to mast the Dutch flag at the entrance of the airport.

“Zish specializes in medical withdrawal flights, private charters and aerial filming for various programs.

“We were able to talk to a pilot from another airline. He told us that he was worried that he could be one of his associate victims, as many employees here know each other.”

Detective and forensic teams are working parallel with Air Eddens Investigation Branch (AAIB), Royal Air Force, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and London Southnd Airport that what happened.

Speaking at the press conference, Lisa Fitzimons, a senior Inspector of AAIB, said it was “very early to estimate what is the reason for this tragic accident”.

“If there are safety lessons that can be learned, we would make recommendations that aim to stop a similar accident,” he said.

Its eight inspectors are now at the accident site.

John Johnson, 40, Belleric, 40 of Essex, saw the accident with his wife and children with aircraft.

“You can see [the pilots] Smiling and we smiled all kinds of smiles.

He told the BBC, “It probably flew in three or four seconds. It started to do heavy banks on its left.”

Then within a few seconds, “the aircraft almost reversed and hit the ground. There was a huge fire ball,” he said.

A London Southnd Airport spokesman said: “Our views are with the affected people [Sunday’s] The events and all the passengers impressed with this disruption.

“We will resume flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on development.”