French customs officials killed as plane crashes in Malta

A plane has crashed in Malta, killing all five people on board in the country's worst peacetime air disaster.

Maltese officials said French customs officials were among victims on the flight, which was heading for the city of Misrata in .

They were tracking across the Mediterranean, where Libya’s northern coast has become the main launching point for migrant boats.

The light aircraft went down during take-off from Malta International Airport at around 7.20am local time (6.20am BST) on Monday morning.

Rescue services at the scene of a light aircraft crash at Malta airport (Reuters)

A witness told the Times of Malta newspaper the propeller plane suddenly tipped to its right side and “went straight down to the ground”.

Footage taken from another plane on the tarmac showed the wreckage burning in a field, sending a large plume of black smoke into the air as passengers could be heard crying.

Edward Degaetano, an actor, was on a flight waiting to take off for London when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash.

“We were about to take off, moments before we did from our windows we could see a massive explosion – at first we had no idea what caused it,” he said.

“We quickly realised an aircraft had crash landed. That is when everyone got a bit anxious.”

Mr Degaetano said everything seemed “very normal” before the disaster, adding: “There was a second explosion and I thought ‘oh my god this is not just a fire’. We are all a bit stunned.”

Another video taken from a car showed the aircraft plummeting at an angle from low altitude, missing nearby houses and roads before exploding into a huge fireball on impact.

Surreal this morning