Small plane crashes into houses, UK

Five people are believed to have been on board a private plane that has crashed into residential properties in north Kent, England.

Officers were called to the scene in Broadwater Gardens, Farnborough, at around 2.30pm, the Metropolitan Police said.

A spokesman said five people were believed to have been on board the twin-engine aircraft. They have not yet been accounted for.

There was also no information on any casualties on the ground.

An eyewitness said the crash was next to the Princess Royal University Hospital.

Katheryn Simnett, a resident of a nearby house, told the BBC: 'We looked out of the bedroom window and we saw it (the plane) flying really low, as though it was in trouble.

'It swerved our house. It looked like it was trying to land in the nearby woods, the nearby fields... but it crashed into two of the houses on the block and we saw two big balls of black smoke and could smell the air fuel.'

She believed the residents of one of the houses were on holiday, while those in the other escaped serious harm.

A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said at least 12 vehicles, including ambulances and fast response vehicles, were attending the scene.

A spokesman for nearby Biggin Hill private airfield said the pilot of the plane had made a Mayday call and was attempting an emergency landing.