Police say four people died aboard a small plane that crashed shortly after taking off from London Southend Airport.

A witness who was at the airport with his family said he saw a “big fireball” after the plane “crashed head first into the ground.”

A small plane has crashed at London Southend Airport on England's south east coast, police said on Sunday. "We remain on the scene of a serious incident at Southend Airport," the local Essex Police said, adding that they were alerted just before 4 p.m. to reports of a collision involving a 39-foot plane.