Portugal Plane Crash: Aircraft 'Crashes Into Lidl Car Park' After Takeoff

Five people reported to have died.
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A light aircraft has crashed into the car park of a Lidl supermarket in Portugal.

The plane is reported to have exploded in mid-air and the four people on board have been killed alongside a person on the ground.

Portuguese media said the victims were the pilot, three passengers, and a lorry driver whose vehicle was hit.

Tragédia há momentos na zona de Tires, S. Domingos de Rana, queda de avião após descolagem. Oxalá não haja vítimas a lamentar pic.twitter.com/r0ZGxmZo08

— Nuno Inverno (@NunoInverno) April 17, 2017

Three of the dead were French citizens and one Swiss, reports say. The plane had been travelling to Marseille, France.

The plane struck a lorry that was unloading goods at the supermarket. The number of injured is not yet known.

Video shows thick black smoke billowing from behind the supermarket and emergency services rushing to the scene.

The incident happened in the town of Tires near Cascais, west of Lisbon.

Video from the scene shows thick black smoke rising from the vicinity of the supermarket, itself just over a mile from the runway of a local airport.

Avioneta despenha-se em Tires junto a supermercadohttps://t.co/EnVDSly8IE pic.twitter.com/TbAsQqSQPL

— tvi24 (@tvi24pt) April 17, 2017

Dozens of emergency service personnel attended the scene, battling to extinguish flames.

Witnesses took to social media to describe the moment the plane “fell from the sky”.

The location of the Lidl supermarket near the Aerodromo Municipal de Cascais
The location of the Lidl supermarket near the Aerodromo Municipal de Cascais
Google

The upmarket resort area of Cascais is around 20.5km from the capital.

The cause of Monday’s crash is not yet known.

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