An airplane has crashed on the Malta archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, killing five people.
The small military aircraft crashed on Monday during take-off at around 0720 (0520 GMT) at Malta’s International Airport (MIA) near the village of Luqa, near the capital port-city, Valletta.
Sources said that, during take-off and while it was still on the tarmac, the plane suddenly tipped to its right side and then burst into flames.
Emergency services are on site and flights to and from the airport have been halted. In a statement, the MIA said it will remain closed until further notice.
Mater Dei hospital staffers have meanwhile been placed on major incident mode.
Some of the burning wreckage ended up on the airport perimeter road between Kirkop and Safi, and firefighters are on the scene spraying the area with foam, while looking for possible survivors.
The twin-prop Metroliner plane, capable of carrying around 10 people, had been leased from Luxembourg.
Early media reports said the plane had been chartered by the European Union (EU)’s border control agency, Frontex, for a flight to Libya. However, Frontex issued a denial, and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said no EU official had been on board.
“No #EU officials involved in plane crash in #Malta. The flight was not related to any of the EU activities,” said Mogherini in a tweet.
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