UPDATE- 5 dead in plane crash at Malta airport

ADDS DETAILS OF VICTIMS, PM'S TWEETS, AIRPORT STATEMENT

ROME (AA) – Five French customs officials were killed after a small passenger plane crashed at Malta International Airport on Monday, leaving no survivors, the Maltese prime minister confirmed.

"Following with all competent authorities developments on crash of small aircraft off Malta airport. Casualties confirmed -JM," Joseph Muscat tweeted.

"Aircraft which crashed after takeoff part of France Customs surveillance op against illicit trafficking. Remains of 5 French nationals found," he added.

The prime minister said the flight was registered as local, coming back to Malta without landing in any third country.

"Official information, footage+eyewitnesses inc 3 soldiers at Safi barracks, 2 commercial airline pilots point at no explosion prior to impact," he tweeted.

The light aircraft, went down shortly after takeoff for reasons unknown, said the Times of Malta, with photos of fire and smoke coming from the wreckage.

"At 7:20am [0520GMT] a Fairchild Metroliner with five crew members aboard was involved in an aircraft accident. The investigation by the relevant authorities is still underway,” according to a statement issued on the Malta International Airport's website.

The airport has been reopened, albeit on operational slowdown, to allow flights to land and take off, it said.

The plane was bound from the small Mediterranean island nation south of Sicily to the coastal town of Misurata, Libya.

Initial reports said that EU officials had been on board, but EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini wrote on Twitter that no officials were involved and the flight was unrelated to EU activities.