Sunbathing man and child killed after plane makes emergency landing on packed beach in Portugal

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Tom Powell2 August 2017

A man and child have been killed after a light plane made an emergency landing on a beach in Portugal, according to local media.

The 50-year-old man and eight-year-old girl were reportedly sunbathing on a packed beach near Lisbon when the plane came in to land.

Police were said to be questioning the plane's two pilots on Wednesday evening - one of whom had been having a flying lesson.

One witness told news channel SIC Noticias that the plane skimmed low over a crowd of sunbathers before landing on Sao Joao beach on the Costa de Caparica. Some people reportedly ran into the sea.

Emergency landing: some sunbathers reportedly ran into the sea
@omalestafeito

The small Cessna aircraft appeared to be in difficulty and wobbled as it skimmed low over the sunbathers - scattering them and spreading panic on the beach, witnesses said.

The plane appeared to have a partly broken left wing, which hung lower than the right wing.

Sunbathers gather in the aftermath of the emergency landing
@omalestafeito

The girl who died was with her parents, who were unhurt, witnesses told local television channels.

The nationality of the victims is not yet known and local reports claim they were not related. There were not believed to be any other injured people.

The plane’s 56-year-old pilot made a Mayday call before signalling he had to land because of engine failure, according to TV station SIC.

He was released after questioning along with his younger pupil, but both are due to appear in court on Thursday.

Lisbon Port police chief Paulo Isabel said: "Any loss of life is to be regretted but given the fact this plane came down on a beach with hundreds of people on it at the height of summer, we could have been looking at many deaths and many injuries."

The beach is located 30km south of Portugal's capital city, Lisbon.

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