Five killed in Malta plane crash
An airplane carrying French customs officials 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.
Flights to and from the airport were halted. In a statement, the MIA said it will remain closed until further notice.
The Maltese government said in a statement that the plane had been chartered by the French customs and that all victims were French nationals.
It said there was no indication of an explosion on board prior to the crash.
“The flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation, which has been taking place for the past five months, with the aim of tracing routes of illicit trafficking of all sorts, including human and drug trafficking amongst others,” the government said.
The remains of all the five victims had been recovered.
Some of the burning wreckage from the plane ended up on the airport perimeter road between Kirkop and Safi, and firefighters were dispatched to the scene spraying the area with foam.
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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