THIS is the chilling moment a group of golfers run towards burning plane wreckage at Southend Airport – after a medical jet crashed.
Golfers at the nearby Rochford Hundred Golf Club were horrified by the tragedy at around 4pm yesterday.
Golfers were evacuated from the nearby Rochford Hundred Golf Clubx
Video footage shows golfers running towards the incident which happened just before 4pmx
A golf buggy raced towards the scenex
Other flyers could be seen watching the aftermath as they waited to board flights that were later cancelledReuters
A medical transport jet reportedly crashed head first into the ground just moments after taking off.
The nearby golf club was evacuated following the incident, with a bartender describing it as “a big heatwave” as he saw “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 heat wave 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.”
Video footage taken from the golf course shows a group of shocked golfers racing towards a plume of smoke.
One man can be heard yelling “F***ing hell, look. Look at this.”
He then moves closer to the scene, asking the others what has happened.
A golf cart can be seen driving towards the incident.
A huge cloud of black smoke can be seen not far from the golfers as they run to check out what had happened.
It is not clear how close the golfers got, with footage ending before they got near the burning wreckage.
The Beech B200 Super King Air was reportedly set to travel to Lelystad in the Netherlands, with an estimated departure time of 3.45pm.
It was equipped with medical systems for transporting patients, although it is unclear whether a patient was onboard.
Witnesses described seeing a “huge fireball” at Southend Airport this afternoon at around 4pm, with Essex County Fire and Rescue called to the incident at 3.58pm.
They said the pilots of the plane had waved at children shortly before the collision.
The twin-engined turboprop plane can carry around 12 people, although it has not been confirmed how many were in the plane at the time of the crash.
John Johnson, who witnessed the crash with his family, said: “We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us.
“The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take-off, 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.”
He added: “I’d say that we’re pretty shaken up.
“I just feel sad for the people who were on the plane and, of course, their loved ones and their family, our thoughts are with them.”
UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander posted on X: “I’m aware of the tragic incident at Southend Airport this afternoon. My thoughts are with all those involved.
“The emergency services are on scene and are advising the public to avoid the area where possible.
“I am monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates.”
London Southend Airport said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with those affected by today’s events and all passengers impacted by this disruption.
UKNIPA bartender at the Golf Club said he felt ‘a big heatwave’ caused by the crash[/caption]
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the crashed medical planex
UKNIPEmergency services rushed to the scene[/caption]
UKNIPA medical jet crashed head first into the ground at around 4pm at Southend Airport[/caption]
“We will restart flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on developments.”
A statement from Essex Police reads: “We remain on the scene of a serious incident at Southend Airport.
“We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.
“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.”
Essex Police have issued an update that they have opened a dedicated online portal and phone line for anyone with information.
They added: “Flights at the airport were quickly grounded to ensure work could immediately begin on extinguishing the flames as quickly as possible.
“We have put a wide cordon in place to ensure all our emergency service colleagues can carry out their work safely, and we will be doing so overnight and into tomorrow morning.”
Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.
“Please help us keep our emergency lines open by using these specific channels if you’re contacting us about this incident.
“We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”
Two fire crews from Southend, two from Rayleigh Weir and Basildon, and off road vehicles from Billericay and Chelmsford attended the scene.
The East of England Ambulance service announced that they sent four ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, four hazardous area response team vehicles, three senior paramedic cars and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance to the scene.
All flights from Southend Airport departing today have been cancelled or diverted to alternative airports.
EasyJet has cancelled this evening’s flights to Paris, Alicante, Faro and Palma de Mallorca.
Customers can either rebook their flights or receive a refund.
EasyJet told the Independent: “We advise anyone due to travel from London Southend tomorrow to check out Flight Tracker for the most up to date information on their flight.”
MP for Southend West & Leigh, David Burton-Sampson, wrote on X: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport.
“Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work. My thoughts are with everyone involved.”
It is understood the plane had landed from Pula Airport in Croatia this morning.
GettyFive fire crews from the Essex area were deployed to the crash[/caption]
UKNIPEssex Police remain at the scene as they launched a dedicated helpline for anyone with information[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
