Seven dead as jet crashes at UK airshow

  • 23/08/2015
(Reuters)
(Reuters)

Seven people are dead and a pilot is in a critical condition after a historic military jet crashed into a busy road at an airshow on the English seaside.

Authorities are warning there may be more bodies found as investigators and emergency services continue to search the scene of Saturday's Shoreham Airshow plane crash.

The Hawker Hunter jet plummeted on to the road in West Sussex after it failed to pull out of a loop manoeuvre.

The pilot is in a critical condition, police said.

Another 14 people were injured after the jet crashed at around 1.20pm, shortly after it began its display in front of thousands of show visitors.

Horrified onlookers described seeing the plane flying low to the ground followed by a "huge ball of fire and black smoke".

Footage of the crash posted online showed the jet carrying out a loop manoeuvre high in the air but smashing into the road in a huge fireball after it failed to pull up in time.

"As far as we are aware all those who sadly lost their lives were on the road, and it was nobody within the air show perimeter on the actual airport," a police spokeswoman said.

"It is possible that tonight and tomorrow we are going to find more bodies at the scene."

Photographs taken by witnesses showed the burning aircraft ploughing across the busy road just metres from cars and a group of people, its cockpit canopy open and wing ablaze, engulfing traffic lights, roadwork cones and signs in a huge ball of fire.

Organisers cancelled Sunday's air show and the Royal Air Forces Association secretary general Nick Bunting said it was "too early to speculate" about the future of the event.

PAA