Melbourne, Australia 21 Feb (ANA) - Four US citizens and an Australian pilot have died after their light plane crashed into a shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia. The charter flight appeared to have had a "catastrophic engine failure" shortly after taking off from the small Essendon Airport, said police. Despite the destruction, no-one was killed or injured on the ground. Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said it was the worst civilian aviation accident in the state in 30 years. "Today is a desperately sad day," he said. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it would investigate how the twin-engine Beechcraft B200 King Air crashed soon after 09:00 local time on Tuesday (22:00 GMT Monday). A spokeswoman for Spotlight, a retailer in the complex, said the plane crashed into its rear warehouse but all staff were safe. A pilot and four passengers were killed in the tragic accident. Details of who died are still emerging. The US embassy in Canberra has confirmed that the four passengers on the plane, bound for Tasmania's King Island, were US citizens. In a statement on Tuesday, the embassy expressed its "deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who died in today's tragic crash".(ANA)

FA/ANA/21 February 2017---