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| Melbourne plane crash: Five killed as aircraft hits shopping centre | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Five people have died after a light plane crashed into a shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia. | |
| The charter flight appeared to have had a "catastrophic engine failure" shortly after taking off from the small Essendon Airport, said Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane. | |
| Everyone on board is believed dead. | |
| "At this stage the advice we have is there are no fatalities other than on the aircraft itself," said the commissioner. | |
| "Looking at the fireball, it is incredibly lucky that no-one was at the back of those stores or in the car park of the stores, that no one was even hurt." | |
| The shopping centre was not open to the public at the time. | The shopping centre was not open to the public at the time. |
| "Today is a desperately sad day," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said. | "Today is a desperately sad day," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said. |
| "A number of people have died as a result of what is the worst civil aviation accident that our state has seen for 30 years." | "A number of people have died as a result of what is the worst civil aviation accident that our state has seen for 30 years." |
| A spokeswoman for Spotlight, a retailer in the complex, said the plane crashed into its rear warehouse but all staff were safe. | A spokeswoman for Spotlight, a retailer in the complex, said the plane crashed into its rear warehouse but all staff were safe. |
| Essendon Airport, mostly used by light planes, is about 13km (8 miles) north-west of central Melbourne. | Essendon Airport, mostly used by light planes, is about 13km (8 miles) north-west of central Melbourne. |
| Damage at scene | Damage at scene |
| The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it would investigate how the twin-engine Beechcraft B200 King Air crashed soon after 09:00 local time on Tuesday (22:00 GMT Monday). | |
| Footage broadcast on local media showed fire and black smoke at the wreckage. | Footage broadcast on local media showed fire and black smoke at the wreckage. |
| "Immediately I could tell it was something horrific, the explosion would have gone 30m [100ft] high and ballooned upwards in red and black," witness Mikey Cahill told the Herald Sun. | "Immediately I could tell it was something horrific, the explosion would have gone 30m [100ft] high and ballooned upwards in red and black," witness Mikey Cahill told the Herald Sun. |
| Another witness, Daniel May, said he was waiting for the shopping centre to open when the plane came down. | Another witness, Daniel May, said he was waiting for the shopping centre to open when the plane came down. |
| "There was an orange explosion and then smoke," he told The Age. "Emergency crews rushed very quickly in, soon after, and I left the area." | "There was an orange explosion and then smoke," he told The Age. "Emergency crews rushed very quickly in, soon after, and I left the area." |
| Police said they were evacuating the area and a nearby freeway was closed in both directions. | Police said they were evacuating the area and a nearby freeway was closed in both directions. |
| King Island, popular for its beaches and dairy farms, lies 245km (150 miles) south of Melbourne in Bass Strait. | King Island, popular for its beaches and dairy farms, lies 245km (150 miles) south of Melbourne in Bass Strait. |