A small twin-engine plane slammed into a flight school hangar at Parafield Airport north of the Australian city of Adelaide on Wednesday afternoon, killing both people aboard and sending 10 others to the hospital, with one of them fighting for his life, according to local authorities.
The collision triggered a massive fire and forced the closure of the airfield.
Four additional victims were treated at Lyell McEwin Hospital for smoke inhalation, and two more were taken to Modbury Hospital, officials said.
Dr. Dan Tran, one of two physicians who rushed to the scene to administer first aid, described the scene to Nine News. "There were first-degree burns, blisters around the ears, a blistered face, his hand all burnt, so it was quite tragic," he said.
Despite the setback, nearly 60 MFS crews managed to extinguish the fire within roughly 20 minutes.
Smoke billowed over surrounding neighborhoods, prompting MFS to issue a smoke advisory for the Parafield and Mawson Lakes areas, about 18 kilometers north of the Adelaide CBD.
South Australia Police Chief Inspector Andrew McCracken confirmed to the media on Wednesday that a pathologist and major crash investigators had been deployed to the scene and that the area would remain cordoned off for at least 24 hours. The Australian Transport Safety Board was notified and dispatched a team to the airport on Wednesday morning to lead the investigation in conjunction with police investigators, according to South Australian police.
Parafield Airport remained closed as of Wednesday while investigators worked the scene.
The crash is the second light plane incident at Parafield in just a few months. In January, a learner pilot crashed during takeoff but walked away uninjured.