Family members of Osama Bin Laden
were on board a plane which crashed in Hampshire, the Saudi Arabian
embassy in the UK has said.
The private jet crashed near Blackbushe Airport, Yateley, on Friday killing the pilot and all three passengers.
In a statement on Twitter, the Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, offered condolences to the Bin Laden family.
The embassy said it was in contact with the British crash investigators.
The
statement said: "His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al
Saud... has paid his condolences to the family and relatives of Mohammed
bin Laden at Blackbushe airport in Britain for the great loss they have
suffered as a result of the crash of the plane that was carrying the
family."
The embassy added that it was working with the British
authorities to ensure the speedy handover of the bodies for funerals and
burials in Saudi Arabia.
The plane - an Embraer Phenom 300 - is
reported to have belonged to an aviation firm owned by the Saudi-based
family of the former al-Qaeda leader.
The plane, which was arriving from Milan, Italy, crashed into a
British Car Auctions site at the airfield shortly after 15:00 BST,
exploding on impact.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said there had been a "ball of flames" and "several explosions".
Its pilot and all three passengers were killed but no-one on the ground was injured, Hampshire Police said.
The force is carrying out a joint investigation with the AAIB.
In a statement, Blackbushe Airport said the jet had crashed near the end of the runway while attempting to make a landing.
The Bin Laden family tree
Osama Bin Laden's father Mohammed was originally from Yemen and moved to Saudi Arabia in the 1910s
He became the head of a construction empire that is behind some of the biggest building projects in Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Bin Laden had many wives, and is estimated to have had at least 50 children
His eldest son, Salem Bin Laden, died in a plane crash in Texas in 1988
A spokeswoman for Milan Malpensa Airport confirmed the plane had left at 13:30 BST on its way to Hampshire.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation tweeted that
the plane was a Saudi-registered private aircraft, and said it would
support the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in its
investigation.
Geoff Pierce, an aviation enthusiast from Fleet in Hampshire was at Blackbushe airfield and saw the plane come down.
He
said: "I've seen that type of aircraft land a number of times at the
airport. At first I didn't realise what was happening, I was taking
photos at the time."
He said the plane did not seem to make a normal approach and appeared to be going at high speed.
"The next thing I knew the siren was wailing on the control tower and then I saw a big plume of black smoke."
The crash happened on the border between Hampshire and Surrey
According to eye-witnesses, the jet exploded as it crashed into the car auction site at the airfield
What is a Phenom 300?
Light jet aircraft made by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer
Standard models of the plane can hold eight occupants, including those in the cockpit
Its wingspan is 15.91m (52ft 2in), and length is 15.64m (51ft 4in)
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