A private plane crashed into an empty building on the outskirts of Milan, northern Italy, on Sunday (October 3), killing all eight people on board, police said.
The aeroplane, which had taken off from Milan’s Linate city airport, was heading for the island of Sardinia, officials added.
The crash occurred just outside a suburban metro station.
People in the area could hear a blast when the plane collided with the two-storey building, which was empty at the time as it was being renovated.
“I heard the sound of an aeroplane above me, as if the plane was shutting down its engine”, San Donato resident Giuseppe told Reuters.
“Then I heard a very loud explosion, the windows of our house started to shake so I opened the window and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising into the sky”, he added.
Several vehicles parked along the street caught fire, witnesses said, but no other casualties were reported.