Image source, Essex Police

Thanks for joining us for our coverage of the press conference following Sunday's fatal plane crash at Southend Airport.

You can scroll down to learn more about the incident.

We will have more news on this story in the coming days, and bring you the latest on when the airport reopens.

Sofia Bettiza
BBC News, reporting from The Netherlands

We are at the headquarters of Zeusch Aviation, external – the Dutch company operating the plane that crashed at Southend Airport.

The aircraft was returning here to Lelystad Airport when it went down yesterday. This is a small airport in the Netherlands, on an island to the east of Amsterdam - and today, it’s almost deserted.

We were able to speak to a pilot from another airline. He told us he’s worried that one of his colleagues may be among the victims, as many of the staff here know one another.

We tried to speak to someone from Zeusch Aviation, but their offices are closed, and they are not responding to journalists.

We just saw airport security staff lowering the Dutch flag to half mast at the entrance of the airport.

So what do we know about the airline?

It’s a privately owned, small company - they operate 14 aircraft. Zeusch specialises in medical evacuation flights, private charters, and aerial filming for various events.

On a typical air ambulance flight, there are usually four people on board: a pilot, a co-pilot, and two medical staff.

The airline has issued a statement saying they are actively supporting the investigation - and that their thoughts are with “everyone who has been affected”.

But key questions remain unanswered - most importantly: who was on board that flight, and what caused it to crash?

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch's Lisa Fitzsimons said six of its inspectors and engineering support staff were sent straight to the airport on Sunday, and they have since been joined by two more inspectors.

She said their areas of expertise included engineering, aircraft operations, human factors and recorded data.

• We've just had it confirmed that the four people who died in the incident were all on board the plane, and police believe they were foreign nationals.
• The plane, which crashed shortly before 16:00 BST on Sunday, was bound for the Netherlands - to Lelystad which is just east of Amsterdam.
• Southend Airport will stay closed until further notice.
• Detectives and forensic teams are working in parallel with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the Royal Air Force, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and London Southend Airport to work out what happened.
• The Civil Aviation Authority has put in place a significant air exclusion zone surrounding the crash site.
• The names of the deceased have not been released, but the authorities said they were working to officially confirm their identities

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch's Lisa Fitzsimons once again expresses her condolences to the families of the victims and thanks emergency services for their work.

She then brings the update on the Southend Airport crash to an end.

Image source, Joe Giddens/PA Media

Speaking at the press conference, Lisa Fitzsimons, a senior inspector at the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, external (AAIB) said it was "too early to speculate on what caused this tragic accident".

She said her team had started its investigation, which would run parallel to the one by Essex Police.

They were "gathering the evidence they need to understand the circumstances" of the crash, she said.

"If there are safety lessons that can learned, they will make recommendations," she added.

We've heard from the chief executive of Southend Airport, Jude Winstanley.

He says staff are working closely with emergency services to support the investigation, and thanks them for their hard work.

He says the airport will remain closed "until further notice".

Ch Supt Cronin continues by saying the victims will be "treated with the utmost respect and dignity".

A "significant" exclusion zone has been set up surrounding the crash site and dozens of witnesses have been providing video evidence to the investigators.

He thanks the public for their patience and says work is being done to "establish the facts" and answer questions.

Ch Supt Morgan Cronin from Essex Police, who is overseeing the investigation, is speaking at a press conference at the airport.

All four people on board the plane died, he says.

Officers are working to their confirm identities but believe all four were "foreign nationals".

Essex police and London Southend Airport have just begun their news conference, we'll bring you what we hear in this page or follow along by pressing Watch live at the top of the page.

Laura Foster
BBC reporter, East of England at Southend Airport

Image source, Barry Caffrey/BBC

The last time I reported from Southend Airport was during the Covid pandemic - when there were no passengers and no flights.

As it was back then, today is eerily quiet.

There are still no flights but the car park is busier than it was back then.

But the majority of cars in the short stay car park belong to journalists who are waiting for a press conference from Essex police and Southend Airport to begin.

A press conference from Essex Police is due to start at 15:00 at London Southend Airport.

We will be streaming the press conference live at the top of this page. Click on the "Watch live" button.

It's expected that officers will confirm the number of casualties. The BBC understands that four people were killed in the crash, and it is thought that all four were on board the plane.

Laura Foster
Senior Reporter

Image source, UGC

The airport has been closed since Sunday afternoon's crash.

There were scheduled to be 20 EasyJet flights and two Eastern Airways flights departing from or arriving at the Essex airport on Monday.

EasyJet says it has been able to reroute most of today's flying programme via alternative London airports and that it has contacted customers directly with the details.

Six flights will operate to and from Gatwick and seven to and from Luton.

Stansted said it was operating as normal – no airlines have rescheduled any flights to it that were due to operate from Southend and just one diverted aircraft was received yesterday afternoon that was en route from Faro to Southend.

Image source, Getty

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Southend, Rayleigh Weir and Basildon, along with off-road vehicles from Billericay and Chelmsford, attended the incident.

Four ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, four hazardous area response team vehicles, three senior paramedic cars and the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance were also sent to the scene, the East of England Ambulance Service said.

Essex Police will hold a press conference at 15:00 at the airport, where it is expected more details will be confirmed on who the four people were.

A report on the The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives website, external says all four occupants, two pilots and two passengers, were killed in the crash on Sunday afternoon.

"Shortly after take-off from runway 05 at Southend Airport, while in initial climb, the twin engine airplane rolled to the left then entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a grassy area nearby the runway, bursting into flames," it says.

Tom Symonds
BBC transport correspondent

Image source, AIRTEAMIMAGES

The Beech B200 Super King Air that crashed at Southend Airport is a bit like a Land Rover of the skies.

It's like an all-purpose vehicle and we can see that it has been rented out for roles including medical evacuation, moving transplant material, aerial mapping, that sort of thing.

The profile of this crash, with witnesses describing the plane veering to the left, suggests loss of power in the left engine.

The records of this type of aircraft show similar crashes over the last 10 years or so.

In one in particular, in Australia, there was a warning after that crash that the throttle levers - that control the power to the two engines - could slip back, reducing the power.

One former aviation accident investigator that I've spoken to said that is an area that might be investigated - but these planes can fly with one engine.

Four people died in the plane crash at London Southend Airport on Sunday, the BBC understands.

Laura Foster
BBC East, at London Southend Airport

I've just spoken to Sam and his family as they jumped out of a taxi at Southend Airport.

Each of them had a big smile on their face and was dragging a suitcase.

I had to break it to them there were no flights from this airport today while the investigation into what happened takes place.

Needless to say, they were devastated.

They're now scrambling to catch a taxi around the M25 to London Gatwick in Sussex with the hope of making their redirected flight.

Helicopter footage shows the crash site and wreckage of the plane, which exploded shortly before 16:00 on Sunday.

Witnesses described seeing a huge fireball in the sky, at London Southend Airport.