Britons feared dead in Libya plane crash

BRITONS are among those feared dead in an air crash in Libya today that has claimed around 100 lives.

The Airbus A330 aircraft, operated by Libyan airline Afriqiyah and travelling from Johannesburg, crashed on landing at Tripoli airport in Libya.

Passengers had been due to take another Afriqiyah plane on to Gatwick, with the flight originally expected at the West Sussex airport at 10.50am today.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have seen reports that there may be British nationals on board but we haven't had any confirmation of that.

"We have got a consular team at the airport who are urgently seeking information."

Jerzy Buzek, head of the European Parliament, said an eight-year-old child had survived the crash.

Afriqiyah said: "We are very sorry to announce the tragic loss of Afriqiyah Airways flight 8U771 from Johannesburg in an accident during landing at Tripoli international airport at 6am Tripoli time today.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the victims. The search-and-rescue mission has now been completed and casualties have been moved to various hospitals. The secretariat of health will issue a statement on the condition of those casualties.

"Our prime objective is to prevent accidents from happening and every effort is being done to address any failure in our safety management system."