Small plane crashes after takeoff at London Southend Airport

LONDON (AP) — A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday at London Southend Airport, which was closed until further notice, officials and witnesses said. No information on any casualties was immediately available.

The plane operated by Zeusch Aviation in the Netherlands had flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula, Croatia, on Sunday before heading to Southend. It was due to return to Lelystad, Netherlands, on Sunday evening.

Zeusch Aviation confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been involved in an accident and said the company was supporting the investigation. “Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected,” its statement said.

British media said the crash involved a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air equipped with medical systems for transporting patients. It’s a turboprop aircraft 12 meters (39 feet) long.

London Southend is a relatively small airport, around 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of the capital. All flights to and from the airport were canceled until further notice, while police, emergency services and air investigators worked at the scene.

Images circulated on social media showing a plume of fire and black smoke emanating from the crash site.

Witness John Johnson, who was at the airport with his family, said he saw a “big fireball” after the plane “crashed head first into the ground.”

“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 or less inverted and crashed just head-first into the ground,” he said.

Johnson said that before the plane got into position for takeoff, he and his family waved at the pilots and “they all waved back at us.”

Essex Police said it was alerted just before 4 p.m. to the “serious incident” at the airport.