Council boss urges Southend to ‘come together’ after plane crash

A council leader has urged a city to come together after four people died in a plane crash.

It has emerged that a Dutch pilot, a co-pilot and a nurse were among the people who died after a small plane crashed at London Southend Airport on Sunday.

Southend-on-Sea City Council leader Daniel Cowan said: “This is a deeply saddening moment for our community, and our thoughts are with everyone affected.

“Southend is a city that comes together in times of sorrow, and I know our residents will join me in offering compassion and solidarity to all those impacted by this tragedy.”

A woman who was killed when the plane crashed was working on her first day as a “flight nurse”, the BBC understands.

Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz, 31, was a German citizen born in Chile and had previously worked as a nurse in the public sector.

In a statement, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it was “deeply saddened by the accident”.

“Among the four people who died was a KLM colleague,” the statement added.

“Our thoughts are with the bereaved, for whom we are naturally there.

“We wish the families and friends of the victims strength in coping with this terrible news.”

It is the second tragedy to happen in the city in recent weeks.

On 28 June, Leonna Ruka, 7, from Dagenham in east London, was killed when a branch from a large tree in Chalkwell Park fell on five children.

The opening of an inquest into her death is due to take place on Wednesday.

Cowan said: “Two major tragedies in a short space of time is clearly going to take their toll on people, which is why we’re encouraging people – anyone needing help – to reach out for it.

“People are coming together and mourning these tragedies as a community, and you can see the outpouring of love and support in person, and online with communities looking to help and support each other,” he said.

The airline EasyJet, which has a base at Southend, said Tuesday’s morning’s three scheduled departures, and the return flights, were operating via London Gatwick.

It said it continued to “work closely with the airport to understand when operations are able to resume”.

Passengers were advised to check its Flight Tracker for the latest information.

Eastern Airways offered “sincere condolences” to the crashed plane’s Netherlands-based operator and to staff at Southend Airport who had to deal with the incident.

It said a Newquay-based aircraft was “stranded” at Southend, which was affecting its flights.

A spokesperson said it had “refunded a number of passengers to allow them to make alternate transport arrangements”.