Shoreham air crash victims' families continue search

Daniele Polito (left) and Mark Trussler (right) are both missing

Relatives of two men who remain missing following the Shoreham air crash have made appeals to trace them.

Four victims have been named by friends or family and the names of two others who are missing have emerged. Police believe it is likely 11 people died.

Daniele Polito, named as one of those missing, was in the same car as Matt Jones, who is known to have died.

The other, Mark Trussler, is thought to have been riding his motorbike on the A27 when the plane crashed on Saturday.

Sussex Chief Constable Giles York said all the people thought to be involved in the incident so far were local.

The force had said more than 200 people had reported concerns for missing relatives or friends since the crash involving a jet at an airshow display.

'Thousand-yard stare'

A first-aider who helped move the pilot to safety, Tony Kemp, gave a first-hand account of the crash scene.

He described how his team worked to get the pilot to safety amid acrid smoke, flames and extreme heat - surrounded by hazards including the jet's explosive-powered ejector seat and the residual fuel on the aircraft.

The British Association for Immediate Care member said: "We thought first of all the flames had been brought under control and then we're suddenly aware this was all coming up again, and shouting to the fire brigade 'are we safe? What's happening?' and at that point recognising we needed out now, and we had to get this gentlemen out."

Teams then faced a very different scene when they handed the pilot to air ambulance crews - one of devastation, with shocked people clustering together, parents trying to protect children and people unable to comprehend what they had witnessed, he told.

"They're just sort of looking at you, staring, that thousand-yard stare," he said. "They should never have to see anything like that - and they're in the middle of it."

The pilot, Andy Hill, has been taken to a specialist hospital for treatment.

'Why them?'

Mr York, who laid flowers near the crash site on Wednesday, said: "We think we've identified 11 people who have died at the scene.

The police chief said: "We need to give a human face to the families involved in this, and be really honest with them, saying 'we most likely think your loved one well may be in one of those vehicles at the scene."

He said 24 dedicated family liaison officers were helping the families.

Mr York also said he was struck by how "a matter of yards" made a difference to what happened to people.

"There is a workman's van at the scene that looks completely untouched. It is parked next to what looks like one of the most burnt cars I think I've ever seen in my life."

And he said that was why survivors sometimes ended up asking "why not me, why was it them".

Sussex Chief Constable Giles York laid flowers near the crash site

Tributes piled up for the victims while hundreds of people reported concerns for missing family and friends

Of the two men named as missing, Mr Polito's family and friends said on social media he was in the same car as Mr Jones.

Marina Polito, believed to be his sister, stressed on Facebook however that "nothing has been confirmed that Daniele is gone".

Mr Trussler's fiancee, Giovanna Chirico, has also appealed on social media to anyone who has seen or heard from him.

A picture of the couple has been shared online with the message: "Mark Trussler, missing, was riding an all black motorbike. If anyone has any details please contact Giovanna Chirico.

"He was at Shoreham airport today. Hoping he just doesn't have mobile signal. Love u babe x."

From left to right: Matt Jones, Jacob Schilt, Matthew Grimstone and Maurice Abrahams

Mr Jones, 24, a personal trainer, was named by his sister Becky on Facebook as one of the dead.

Worthing United players Jacob Schilt, 23, and Matthew Grimstone, also 23, are thought to have been travelling in the same car when it was struck as air display pilot Andy Hill's 1950s Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 West Sussex coastal trunk road before exploding.

The fourth victim was former Hampshire police officer Maurice Abrahams, 76, who was driving a Daimler limousine to a wedding at the time of the crash.

A Brighton and Hove Albion scarf is wound round the tribute to Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt

A community in shock

West Sussex coroner Penny Schofield warned that identifying those who died would be a "slow and painstaking operation", saying it may take several weeks before investigations were complete.

More than a thousand people have signed an online book of condolence as the community comes to terms with what they have seen.

West Sussex County Council leader Louise Goldsmith said more than 20,000 people were at the airshow and the incident affected local people and those further afield.

She said the tributes and the sight of people walking quietly up the road with flowers had been "incredibly moving".

"Reading those messages it is clear to me that the instinct to protect stretches far beyond our immediate family, it stretches in sorrow to those we have never met but who we know are suffering", she said.

"The work to rebuild will take some time so it is reassuring to know the community is pulling together at a time of great need."

Council staff had cancelled leave and spent several days at Worthing hospital helping and supporting people.

Near the crash site, local shops sent socks to soaked emergency workers with food and drink provisions, and Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club offered their training ground as an emergency base.

The Reverend Jonathan Baldwin said incidents like the air crash were not expected in a day's work for police: "They're trained yes, but they're still humans. And when you get devastation like that, it's appalling."

An online community fund has raised more than £11,000 to help people affected by the disaster

A children's charity urged parents to watch their youngsters for reaction signs such as anxiety, lack of confidence and behavioural changes - and to answer their questions openly and honestly.

Mary Rider, from Sussex-based Winston's Wish, said: "For children the world suddenly looks like a much more dangerous place and shakes their feelings of safety."

Much of what had happened looked like a scene from a disaster movie, she said, but it was important to talk and explain this was a real-life event.

An online community fund set up as a "spontaneous and immediate" way to help people affected now stands at more than £11,000, while local fundraising events have ranged from raffles to ribbon sales.

Kevin Richmond, from the Sussex Community Foundation, said money raised by the online fund would be used to help the families of those who had died and people injured, and some of it could potentially be used to create a memorial.

Local NHS services have issued advice on how to deal with the psychological impact of the disaster and have set up helplines, which will be open on weekdays until 18 September. People who need urgent help should still contact their doctor.

Mr Hill failed to complete a loop manoeuvre immediately before the jet plummeted to the ground, crashing into traffic on the A27.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where he was placed in a medically-induced coma after the crash.

On Wednesday, Brighton and Hove NHS Foundation Trust said Mr Hill remained in a critical but stable condition, but had been moved to a specialist hospital.

Pilot Andy Hill remains in a critical condition with multiple injuries

What we know so far about the air disaster

Who were the victims?

Jet restrictions announced

'Like a bomb exploding' - eyewitness accounts

The air crash in pictures

At the crash scene, police operations to remove debris and vehicles and carry out forensic examinations will continue "for some weeks", the force has said.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch work to recover the jet wreckage and any other plane parts has drawn to a close.

Organisers of the air show, the Royal Air Forces Association, cancelled the remainder of the event after the crash, and have also defended its safety record.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has brought in new restrictions on vintage jets in air displays.

The 1950s Hawker Hunter jet crashed into several cars on a nearby road causing a large fireball