‘Huge fireball’: Four dead in horrific medical plane crash in London

There has been a sad update after a plane in London burst into flames, causing the airport to remain shut for days.

Four people died when a medical transport plane crashed and burst into flames shortly after take off at a London airport, including a woman who is understood to have been on her first day as a flight nurse.

A pilot, co-pilot, nurse and doctor were tragically killed when the Beech B200 Super King Air crashed on Sunday afternoon, local time, at London Southend Airport.

The international airport is located on the outskirts of resort town Southend-on-Sea in Essex.

All flights have been cancelled and the airport remains closed.

Three bodies have been recovered from the crash site with the fourth expected to be recovered within the next 24 hours, the latest update from Essex Police on Tuesday afternoon (12.55am Wednesday AEST) said.

German Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz, 31, has been named by friends as the nurse on board.

A friend told BBC Ms Rojaz Ortiz was “fun” and “outgoing” with the “kindest soul”.

“She had a giving heart and was humble, and chose a profession that reflected that,” Anna Smith said.

“She was so excited for this new job – it was her first day.”

Police have not officially identified the victims, who are all foreign nationals. The pilots and doctor were men.

German nurse Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz, 31, died in the crash. Picture: Go Fund Me

Essex Police Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin described the crash as an “incredibly complex incident” and said police were investigating alongside the Air Accident Investigation Branch.

“Everything we are doing is aimed at finding and preserving the physical and electronic evidence which we hope will help build an accurate picture of what happened,” he said.

“The scale of the work being undertaken by many agencies here at Southend Airport should not be underestimated.

“That work at the scene will continue today and further into the week as we seek to find the answers to what happened here on Sunday afternoon.”

The flight was a medical flight chartered to London Southend Airport for a patient to be transported onward for medical treatment in the UK, police said.

The aircraft had landed at the airport earlier in the day and had then taken off on route to the Netherlands.

“Shortly after takeoff, it got into difficulty and crashed within the airport boundary,” Chief Superintendent Cronin said in an earlier press conference.

The plane was operated by Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands.

The plane crashed shortly after take off at London Southend Airport. Picture: Your Southend

London Southend Airport said it would remain closed “until further notice” and advised people with flights scheduled to contact their airline.

“The friends and families of those lost on Sunday are at the forefront of our minds,” an airport spokesperson said.

“Our team continues to work closely with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch to support their work.”

Two pilots, a doctor and nurse were killed in the crash. Picture: Your Southend

Witnesses described seeing a “huge fireball” at the airport at about 4pm on Sunday.

They said the pilots of the plane had waved at children shortly before the crash.

John Johnson, who witnessed the crash with his family and said he was “pretty shaken up”, told PA news agency: “We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us.

“The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its takeoff, departure, powered up, rolled down the runway.

“It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more of less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground.

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it.

“All the kids saw it and the families saw it. I phoned 999, reported it.”

London Southend Airport remains closed. Picture: X

It is not yet known what caused the crash. Picture: X

A bartender at the nearby golf club, which was evacuated following the crash, said he felt “a big heatwave” before seeing a “massive fireball” in the sky.

James Philpott told the BBC: “I was just basically in a hut like in the middle of the course and I didn’t even see any plane go down or anything and I just felt like a big heatwave come through and I looked up and there was just a massive fireball basically 100 foot in the sky.

“It was more the heat really just kind of hit me as I was sitting there, just like, feel like I’m baking.”

He continued: “I think everyone was just quite shocked to be honest.”

Essex Police have urged members of the public who either witnessed the crash or have video footage of it to get in touch with them.

They are particularly interested in footage of any small jets – not commercial aircraft – landing at Southend Airport on Sunday, July 13 between 2.15pm and 4pm.

— with The Sun