Four feared dead when plane crashed in Malaga

Four people were reported killed and 40 others injured when an airliner crash landed on a road near Malaga airport on Spain’s Costa del Sol today.

Passengers who survived said they were trapped in the plane for half an hour after it crashed only 200 yards from the airport while on its final approach.

The plane, with 41 passengers and three crew aboard, was flying on its regular route to Malaga from Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the northern Moroccan coast.

A police spokeswoman said several of the passengers were trapped inside the plane and that at least three were feared dead.

Spanish National Radio put the number of dead at four, citing a local politician.

There was an unconfirmed report that the main body of the plane broke in half when it crashed on national highway N340, 200 yards from Malaga airport.

Firefighting units rushed to the scene of the accident, which occurred around 9am Irish time.

The plane was a twin-engine, propeller CN235 made by the Spanish company CASA, flown by Binter Mediterraneo airline, formerly a subsidiary of national airline Iberia.

A passenger told national news agency Efe that the plane’s left engine stopped as the aircraft was on a landing approach. The passenger said the passengers were stuck inside the plane for nearly half an hour before they could break one of the windows and escape.

Other passengers said that they noticed the propellers were not working properly as the plane prepared to land. They said there was no pilot warning before the crash landing.