FIVE customs officials were killed when a plane nosedived to the ground and crashed in a ball of flames yesterday.
Three French defence officials and two others died shortly after the surveillance plane took off from Malta International Airport.
The US-registered light aircraft, on lease to a firm in Luxembourg, was seen banking sharply before plummeting to the ground and exploding in a huge fireball at about 7.20am local time.
Malta’s government said the five men were part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of human and drug
trafficking The twin-propeller Fairchild Metroliner Mark III plane had been heading for Misrata in north-west Libya.
A government spokesman said witnesses had confirmed there was no explosion prior to impact.
British actor Edward De Gaetano was returning to London when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash.
He said: “We were about to take off – moments before we did, we could see a massive explosion from our windows. At first we had no idea what caused it.”
He added: “Then there was a second explosion and I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is not just a fire’. We are all a bit stunned.”
The airport was closed for four hours while debris was cleared, causing dozens of flights to be delayed and cancelled. Officials warned it would take “some time” for the schedule to return to normal.
French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed three of the victims were ministry staff, while the other two were contractors.
A spokesman for the airport at Luqa said: “We can confirm that the five crew on board the aircraft are deceased. Our thoughts are with families of people involved in this accident. An investigation is ongoing and we are working with all the authorities to provide them with any assistance necessary.”
Meanwhile, a transatlantic flight has landed safely at Shannon Airport in Ireland after declaring an emergency.
The United Airlines service to the US was forced to make the unscheduled landing shortly after take-off from Belfast International Airport.
A Shannon Airport spokeswoman said flight UA-76 to Newark had declared an emergency but landed safely just before 2.30pm.
Passengers on the plane were told there was an issue with the Boeing 757’s landing gear.
There were concerns that the front wheels could not be locked to take the impact of a landing.
It is understood the pilots circled around the west coast of Ireland for about two hours burning off fuel before making their approach into Shannon.
The airport’s emergency crews including firefighters were on the runway for the landing.
