A small chartered plane with five people aboard crashed into a shopping center shortly after takeoff from Melbourne’s Essendon airport Tuesday morning, Victoria police said.
The DFO shopping center was not open for business when the plane went down around 9 a.m. local time, officials said.
Victoria Minister for Police Lisa Neville told reporters on the scene that details regarding the cause of the crash “are still being confirmed by police and fire services,” CNN affiliate Seven Network reported.
Neville said she believes the plane was a Hawker Beechcraft and said police and firefighters remained at the scene.
She described the crash as a “very tragic accident” and said she expected authorities to have more updates on potential victims shortly.
All flights in and out of Essendon, a smaller airport that is separate from Melbourne Airport, were temporarily suspended. Police asked people to avoid the area and said some portions of the Tullamarine Freeway would remain closed due to scattered debris from the crash.
Aerial pictures from Seven Network showed rescue workers on the scene, as well as damage to the roof and infrastructure of the shopping center.