The District Command for Relief Operations in Beja reported this afternoon that the Beja fire department received an alert from the airfield that a microlite type of aircraft had crashed at 17.19 today.
The accident caused two serious injuries and the victims were swiftly transported to Beja Hospital where later they both were described as being in a stable condition.
The aircraft caught fire on, or shortly after impact and the blaze was put out by the firefighting crew with a column of smoke visible from the city which is about three kilometres from the airfield.
The accident happened at the airfield runway area but it is not yet known if the aircraft was landing or taking off.
Earlier reports that the people on board had died proved erroneous; the two seriously injured are a 66-year old man who was piloting the aircraft and a girl aged 14 who walked away from the wreckage.
A third person who was first on the scene to provide assistance also was taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
The crash drew a New Year’s Day response of personnel from the Beja fire service, the GNR and the National Institute of Medical Emergency who turned up with a fully kitted out vehicle for emergency care and resuscitation.
