Five feared dead after plane crashes into Melbourne shopping centre
Five people are feared dead after a plane crashed into a shopping centre in the southern Australian city of Melbourne, setting the building ablaze.
The light aircraft crashed into the DFO shopping centre at Essendon and exploded about 9am on Tuesday. Victoria’s police minister has confirmed there were five people on board the plane.
Victoria police superintendent Mick Frewan said at a press conference that police had not been able to confirm any fatalities and did not know how many people may have been in the shopping centre when the crash occurred.
Horrible scenes in #Essendon as an air ambulance crashes. Can only hope everyone is okay but the scene looks pretty devastating. pic.twitter.com/r8kLwgot0X— Samantha Amjadali (@sam_amjadali) February 20, 2017
“We have been unable to assess the scene because the fire is still burning,” Frewen said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“As soon as the MFP (Metropolitan Fire Brigade) put out the fire we will do an assessment on the structural integrity of the building, and then we will send in people to check for injuries or fatalities.”
Frewen said the plane crashed into the back of a furniture store and a electronics store.
He confirmed it was a charter flight, but said Essendon Airport had not confirmed the ownership or passenger list with police.