London Southend Airport was rocked by a plane crash on Sunday evening, leading to cancellations and delays at the airport hub.
Images of a plume of fire and black smoke rising from the crash site quickly went viral on social media.
The relatively small airport is located about 45 miles (72 kilometres) east of the capital, and Essex Police said it was notified of the “serious incident” at the airport shortly before 4pm.
Essex Police stated at the time: “We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.”
What other details have been made public? Here’s everything we know.
Where was the flight headed?
The plane in question was a Beechcraft King Air B200 with twin engines, which is 12 meters (39 feet) long and can carry more than 20 people.
It was on its way to Lelystad, Netherlands, from Southend Airport, which is home to its operator, Seusch Aviation.
The plane had only arrived at Southend Airport in the morning on July 13, having flown over from Pula, Croatia.
The aircraft was equipped with medical systems for transporting patients. Zeusch Aviation, which operated the aircraft specialises in medical evacuation services and transplant flights, and also runs private charters.
In June, the business posted on LinkedIn a picture that seemed to show a critical care patient being flown from Jersey to Scotland.
It's unclear if the plane was being used for a medical evacuation while the cause of the crash is still unknown.
Zeusch Aviation, who confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at London Southend Airport, said in a statement that the company was “actively supporting the authorities with the investigation”.
Are there any casualties?
It has been reported that four people were on board the plane when it crashed.
A man who was at the airport with his wife and children said that the plane crashed just a few seconds after it took off at 3:48pm.
According to John Johnson, as the pilots taxied the aircraft, they “waved” at his family.
He went on to say: “We all waved [back] at them. They turned back and continued taxiing to their takeoff location."
“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”
After that, the plane “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”
Essex Police remain at the scene on Monday morning, where a wide cordon is in place. Additionally, Essex Police has established a phone line and web link for anyone with information or enquiries regarding the incident.
Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.
“Please help us keep our emergency lines open by using these specific channels if you’re contacting us about this incident.
“We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened and why.”
Is Southend Airport open?
Southend Airport will stay closed until further notice.
Five foreign flights were cancelled after the accident, according to the airport's website.
EasyJet, one of the few airlines that uses the airport, has cancelled all flights on Sunday to and from the airport and said anyone due to fly on Monday should check online for up-to-date information.
Southend Airport said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by today’s events and all passengers impacted by this disruption.
“We will restart flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on developments.”
