Family
members of Osama Bin Laden were killed in a private jet crash in
Hampshire on Friday, the Saudi Arabian embassy in the UK has said.
It came down near Blackbushe Airport, close to the Surrey border, killing the pilot and all three passengers.In a statement, 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".
The pilot and all three passengers were killed but no-one on the ground was injured, Hampshire Police said.
In a statement, the force said: "We do believe three of the deceased to be the mother, sister and brother-in-law of the owner of the aircraft, all of whom are from the Bin Laden family, but formal post-mortem examinations are ongoing.
"They were Saudi Arabian nationals and visiting the UK on vacation."
It is carrying out a joint investigation with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and has urged anyone with pictures and videos to get in touch on 101.
A spokeswoman for AAIB said a team had been deployed to the site.
In a statement, Blackbushe Airport, in Yateley, which is currently closed, said the jet had crashed near the end of the runway while attempting to make a landing.
Phil Giles, a former air accident investigator, said: "It suggests that the plane either landed too late or tried to take off again when the pilot realised it wasn't going to make the end of the runway.
"Or it may have been a problem with the brakes."
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, who died in a plane crash in 1968, had many wives, and is estimated to have had at least 50 children
- His eldest son, Salem Bin Laden, also died in a plane crash in Texas in 1988
- The Bin Laden family - many of whom live in the US - severed ties with Osama before disowning him after the 11 September attacks
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 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 Bin Laden family image is very different in Saudi Arabia compared to the West.
In Saudi Arabia, they are known as philanthropists and as successful business people that have been in the country since 1910, when the father, Mohammed Bin Laden, from Yeoman, first arrived.
He started a large construction empire which still operates today.
The connection between the wider clan and Osama Bin Laden is very distant, even non-existent, since the 911 attacks.
A large part of the Bin Laden clan is living in the West, mainly in the United States, including in Boston.
So, it wouldn't be surprising to see other members of this family travelling all over Europe.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it sent 24 firefighters to the scene following the crash.
Barry Wright said there was a "huge bang" followed by an explosion.
"It started off instantly with smoke coming up, then there was a small flame from the top of the air craft, then...it just literally went into a ball of flames within a minute."
Jennie Cole's garden backs onto the runway, with only a small amount of woodland between.
"To think that is was that close is quite scary," she said.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said he saw the plane come down while he was repairing his chimney.
"I was on the roof and I heard the jet and thought I would watch it land," he said.
"I saw it going past, then it was about 20 feet off the ground and I thought, it's not got enough runway to land here.
"I could hear cars exploding over at the market."