Horrifying dashcam footage captures the last moments of a plane as it nosedives into the ground killing five passengers and explodes in a ball of flames shortly after taking off in Malta
Plane believed to be carrying EU border officials has crashed in Malta
Five people are believed to have died in the crash, according to officials
The light aircraft was heading for Misrata in Libya when it crashed
Horrifying dash-cam footage has captured the last moments of a plane as it nosedived into the ground and burst into flames in Malta, killing all five passengers.
The light aircraft, believed to be carrying EU border officials, crashed shortly after taking-off from the runway at Malta Airport in Luqa at around 7.20am today.
No one aboard the flight, which was heading for Misrata in Libya, is thought to have survived.
The victims are thought to be French, but it is not clear whether they are military personnel or civilians.
Small plane crash on SoCal beach is captured on camera
Laurent Azzopardi captured the dramatic footage while he was driving to work.
'On my way to the work this morning - a very shocking experience, a plane crash (very close),' he captioned the video.
One witness told the Times of Malta how they saw the plane take-off and rise before it tipped onto its right side 'and went straight down into the ground.'
Emergency services are on the scene and rescuers are searching the burning wreckage for any survivors.
The plane, a twin-prop Metroliner which can carry around 10 people, had been leased from Luxembourg for use by officials, according to reports.
It was previously reported that the plane was carrying officials from European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex.
But Frontex has since tweeted saying: 'The plane that crashed in Malta was not deployed by Frontex.'
Five people died this morning after the aircraft they were flying in crashed shortly after take-off in Luqa at around 7.20am.
Sources said the plane crashed near the runway soon after take-off and subsequently burst into flames. An eyewitness told Times of Malta they saw the plane take-off and rise before it suddenly tipped onto its right side "and went straight down into the ground."
All five crew members were French, sources said, although this could not be independently verified at the time of writing. In a statement, Malta International Airport confirmed that nobody aboard the plane had survived the crash.
Mater Dei hospital staff have been placed in major incident mode. Emergency services are on site and flights to and from MIA have been halted, with the airport issuing a statement saying that the aerodrome will remain closed until further notice. Most of the flights are being diverted to Sicily. It apologised to passengers for the inconvenience.
The twin-prop US-built Swearingen Metroliner plane was heading for Misurata in Libya, sources said.
Malta plane crash: All five people on board killed as light aircraft goes down at airport in 'take-off accident'
A plane has crashed in Malta, killing all five people on board in the country's worst peacetime air disaster.
The light aircraft went down during take-off from Malta International Airport at around 7.20am local time (6.20am BST) on Monday morning.
A witness told the Times of Malta newspaper the propeller plane suddenly tipped to its right side and "went straight down to the ground".
Footage taken from another plane on the tarmac showed the wreckage burning in a field, sending a huge plume of black smoke into the air as passengers could be heard crying.
Edward De Gaetano, an actor, was on the flight waiting to take off for London when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash.
“We were about to take off, moments before we did from our windows we could see a massive explosion - at first we had no idea what caused it,” he said.
“We quickly realised an aircraft had crash landed. That is when everyone got a bit anxious.”
Mr De Gaetano said everything seemed "very normal" before the disaster, adding: “There was a second explosion and I thought 'oh my god this is not just a fire'. We are all a bit stunned.”
Another video taken from a car showed the aircraft plummeting at an angle from low altitude, missing nearby houses and roads before exploding into a huge fireball on impact.
Terrifying footage captures the moment a plane nosedives into the ground shortly after take off and explodes in a ball of flame beside a road, killing all five people on board in Malta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4j7BZB_-Jg
