Five killed in Malta after aircraft carrying European Union border officials crashes

At least five people were killed on Monday after an aircraft carrying officials from the European Union border agency Frontex crashed in Malta, The Independent reported. The aircraft crashed at approximately 7.20 am (local time), shortly after it took off from Malta International Airport for the city of Misrata in Libya. The Maltese government confirmed the deaths and said they were French officials tracing Mediterranean trafficking routes from Libya, according to AP.

An eyewitness said the plane suddenly tipped onto its right side and “went straight down into the ground”, according to the Times of Malta. Nobody aboard the plane is believed to have survived the crash, according to the report. Footage taken from another aircraft showed the wreckage of the plane burning in an field. Emergency services were sent to site and flights from the airport were cancelled.

While reports suggested that Frontex had leased the aircraft – a twin-propeller Metroliner – the border agency later denied the claim, saying that the plane had not been deployed by it. The crash is being touted as the country’s worst peacetime aircraft accident, according to The Guardian.