Three people have died after a light aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off at Shellharbour Airport, south of Sydney.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at about 10am on Saturday following reports the aircraft had gone down in the Lake Illawarra area.
Police said the plane caught fire upon impact, with the blaze quickly extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW crews.
‘Upon impacting with the ground, the aircraft caught on fire which was extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW,’ police confirmed.
Tragically, all three people on board were killed.
There are no reports of any other injuries.
Specialist officers from the Lake Illawarra Police District and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are investigating the cause of the crash.

Three people have died after a light plane crash-landed and caught on fire just minutes after take-off on the NSW South Coast (stock)