Seven people died when a plane crashed into cars on a major road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex.
The aircraft, believed to be a Hawker Hunter jet, plummeted to the ground when it failed to pull out of a loop manoeuvre, smashing into the A27 in a huge fireball.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service said: “Secamb confirm 7 fatalities from the crash at the Shoreham air show today. Thoughts are with the families and loved ones.”
West Sussex Police said a casualty is being treated at the Royal Sussex County Hospital with serious life-threatening injuries, while a further 14 people are being treated for minor injuries.
It is not known whether the pilot was able to eject or not.
All the casualties are believed to have occurred on the A27, and there are not thought to be any injuries to anyone at the airfield.
A police spokesman said: “A number of people are known to have died when a historic military jet crashed into a busy main road at Shoreham in Sussex.
“The Hawker Hunter was taking part in an air show at the airport adjacent to the A27 when it crashed on to the road and ended up in a bush at 1.20pm.
“Emergency services have declared a major incident and a number of helicopters have been deployed to the scene to evacuate casualties to hospital. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has sent 10 appliances to the scene.
“The Air Accidents Investigation Branch are attending the scene and have asked anyone who has video or photographs of the plane in the time leading up to and including the crash to hold on to them and await advice as to whether they may be wanted to assist with the investigation.”
The A27 has been closed at Lancing and to the north of Hove, police added, and is expected to remain closed for some time.
Within seconds we were thinking, ‘gosh, that plane is going rather low’. There was a ball of fire, we didn’t even hear an impact, and then plumes of black smoke
Horrified onlookers described seeing the plane flying low to the ground followed by a “huge ball of fire and black smoke”.
Footage of the crash posted online showed the jet carrying out a loop manoeuvre high in the air but failing to pull up in time.
The plane then crashed into the ground, bursting into a ball of flame and smoke. The pilot did not appear to deploy the ejection system.
Footage appeared to show queueing traffic on the A27 as the plane slammed into it.
One eyewitness, tweeting as Jon B, said: “It (the plane) turned from the north by Lancing College, went to go low towards the airfield and went behind some trees below where I was.
“Then there was a crunch sound and a ball of flames and thick black smoke came up from the ground.”
Laura Raymond, a presenter for Splash FM, said the accident happened less than a quarter of a mile from where crowds and families were watching the event.
She said a “couple of planes” were taking part in a jet display when one appeared to fly too close to the ground before onlookers saw a “huge ball of fire and black smoke”.
She told Sky News: “We were watching the displays... and the fast jets were going on. To the best of our knowledge the Hawker Hunter T-7 display was under way.
“Within seconds we were thinking, ‘gosh, that plane is going rather low’. There was a ball of fire, we didn’t even hear an impact, and then plumes of black smoke.”