An aircraft has crashed at London Southend Airport, as confirmed by police.
The Beechcraft B200 crashed around 4 p.m. on Sunday, shortly after taking off from Southend airport, and was observed on fire with dark smoke rising from it, according to photos shared on social media, as reported by BBC.
The East of England Ambulance Service reported that four crews were present, including a rapid response vehicle, a hazardous area response vehicle, and a senior paramedic.
David Burton-Sampson, the Labour MP for Southend West and Leigh, tweeted on X: “I am aware of an incident at Southend airport. Please stay away and let the emergency services do their job. My thoughts are with everyone involved.”
Essex police stated they were responding to a “serious incident,” according to BBC reports.
In a statement, Essex Police mentioned, “We were alerted just before 4 p.m. to reports of a collision involving a 12-meter plane. We are collaborating with all emergency services at the scene, and this work will continue for several hours.”
A representative from Essex Police stated: “We are collaborating with all emergency services on-site, and this effort will last for several hours.”
“We kindly ask the public to avoid this area as much as possible while this work is in progress.”
Essex County fire and rescue service reported that four crews and off-road vehicles responded to the incident.
The plane was reportedly scheduled to fly to Lelystad in the Netherlands.
ESN Report posted on X: “Just saw a Beechcraft crash during take-off at Southend airport about 40 minutes after a Cessna also left the runway. My thoughts are with those on the aircraft. Truly tragic. I was waving to the crew just moments before.”
Police mentioned that they were evacuating the Rochford Hundred golf club and Westcliff rugby club as a precaution due to their closeness to the incident.
An eyewitness from Westcliff Rugby Club noted that a presentation event was taking place at the time of the crash.
Matt Dent, Southend City Council’s cabinet member for business, culture, music, and tourism, mentioned on X: “I am aware of the serious live incident occurring at London Southend Airport.”
“All I know so far is that a small plane has crashed at the airport. My thoughts are with everyone involved, and with the emergency services that are responding to this incident.”
Four flights planned to depart from the airport on Sunday afternoon have been canceled, as stated on its website.
No information has been released regarding the number of passengers on board.
Authorities are still evaluating the situation.
