Lisbon: An aircraft, reportedly a Cessna, making an emergency landing on the packed Portuguese beach, 30 km away from Lisbon, killed a man and an eight-year-old girl, according to the authorities.
Hundreds of sunbathers were on the beach at Caparica, south of Lisbon, on Wednesday when the incident took place. Witnesses said some sunbathers ran into the sea to avoid the plane, reported Hindustan Times.
The National Maritime Authority said the man and girl died on the beach. It did not give the man’s age, but local media reported he was 50. The aircraft was carrying two people appeared to be in difficulty and swayed as it glided low over the sunbathers, scattering them and spreading panic on the beach, witnesses said.
The plane appeared to have a partly broken left wing, which hung lower than the right wing, Portuguese television pictures showed.
The girl was with her parents, who were unhurt when she got died. The plane passed over the dead man’s legs as he sunbathed on a towel, they said. No others were reportedly hurt. The bodies lay covered in the sand as police cordoned off the area.
The two occupants of the plane were unhurt and were led away by police.