Four people are now confirmed to have died in Sunday’s light plane crash in England, the Dutch foreign ministry said on Monday evening.

The pilot and co-pilot were Dutch while the two passengers were a Chilean woman and a doctor who came from another European country, broadcaster NOS said.

Southend airport remains closed as investigators work to establish what happened to the plane, a 12-metre Beechcraft B200 operated by Lelystad-based Zeusch Aviation. The plane exploded in what eyewitnesses described as a fireball when it hit the ground.

Zeusch Aviation is a Dutch company which specialises in medical evacuations, transplant flights and private charters. Lelystad airport, where the airline is based, is not open to commercial aviation.

According to British media, the aircraft had flown from Pula in Croatia to Southend earlier in the morning.

Eyewitness John Johnson told PA Media he and his family had waved to the pilots shortly before take-off.

“It took off and about three or four seconds later it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed headfirst into the ground,” he said.

Small Plane Crashes in Huge Fireball at Southend Airport – Emergency Services at Scene https://t.co/XIA5A97euy pic.twitter.com/vKkZJDiWct

— UK News in Pictures(@UKNIP247) (@uknip247) July 13, 2025

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it. All the kids saw it and the families saw it.”