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Single-seat jet crashes at southern UK airshow, hitting vehicles on highway

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Emergency services attend the scene on the A27 after a plane crashed into cars on the major road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex, England, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. A military jet taking part in a British airshow crashed into a busy main road, killing seven people and injuring more than a dozen others, police said Saturday. The Hawker Hunter fighter jet, which was participating in the Shoreham Airshow near Brighton in southern England, hit several vehicles on the road as it crashed Saturday afternoon. Witnesses told local TV that the jet appeared to have plummeted when it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES (The Associated Press)

Emergency services attend the scene on the A27 road after a plane crashed into cars during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex, England, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. A military jet taking part in a British airshow crashed into a busy main road, killing and injuring several people, police said Saturday. Witnesses told local TV that the jet appeared to have plummeted when it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE (The Associated Press)

British police say a single-seater jet has crashed at an airshow in southern England, causing several casualties.

Police say the aircraft, believed to be a Hawker Hunter fighter jet participating in the Shoreham Airshow near Brighton, came down on a highway where it hit several vehicles as it crashed Saturday afternoon.

Local news reports carried video and photographs of a fireball erupting near trees and huge plumes of thick black smoke rising.

West Sussex Police said there were "several casualties" and that the highway was closed in both directions. The force did not elaborate on the conditions of those injured.

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