Three people have died after a light plane crashed at Shellharbour Airport on Saturday morning near Wollongong in New South Wales.The plane took-off at about 10am before crashing and catching fire.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, the chief inspector of Lake Illawarra Police District, Aaron Wunderlich, said it was a private plane heading to Ballarat.
“It’s obviously a very tragic incident,” Wunderlich said.There were three adults on board of a similar age group, but they have not been formally identified.
“Police are working to formally identify the three people involved in the incident, so I can’t release any details at this point in relation to who they are, or their ages, or where they’re from,” he said.
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The airport was hosting an open day with the local aviation museum. The plane was not part of the open day, but parts of the crowd witnessed the crash.
“It’s quite a gruesome scene,” he said. “I’m guessing probably about 10 to 15 people ... may have witnessed it.”
“We also had RFS on scene for a training exercise, so some people from our RFS have actually witnessed the accident.”
He said NSW police would offer counselling to first responders and witnesses of the crash.
Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Andrew Barber told the ABC a local RFS unit was at the airport doing training at the time of the crash and rushed to help.
“However, due to the nature of fuel, the fuel exposure, the combustion of the fuel, the occupants had no chance of being saved,” Barber said.
“So the plane, which has been from what Fire and Rescue said, it was broken into multiple pieces by the impact of the crash. It’s still on the site, as are the three people who died, unfortunately, and there will be a full investigation forthcoming by police.”
Katelin McInerney, the local Labor MP elected for the seat of Kiama wrote on social media the news was “devastating”.
“My thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved in the crash, as well as the dedicated first responders,” she said.
Emergency services were at the airfield and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have been notified to investigate the crash.