A small passenger aircraft crashed on a section of the Rotterdam harbour area known as the Second Maasvlakte on Monday. The four people who were inside the plane suffered serious injuries.

The single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk disappeared from radar around noon and it took more than four hours to find the wreckage. The occupants, two adults and two teenagers, were transferred to hospitals in The Hague and Rotterdam, police said. So far, no precise information has been released on their medical condition.

A helicopter was used to find the aircraft. A team of first responders was immediately dropped off at the crash site and ambulances and rescue helicopters were used to transport the injured passengers to hospital.

The aircraft was en route from Zeeland province to Rotterdam-The Hague Airport. Fog hampered the search effort. It is not clear what exactly caused the crash.

(dcf/imm)

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