Southend Airport in the United Kingdom has been shut down indefinitely after a small aircraft crashed on Sunday afternoon, triggering a massive fireball.

Footage shared online captured intense flames and thick black smoke billowing from the scene.

Essex Police said officers were called shortly before 4pm following reports of a collision involving a 12-metre plane.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

Southend Airport said it would be “closed until further notice” due to the “serious incident”.

The aircraft involved in the crash has been identified as a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, the plane departed Southend Airport at 3:48 p.m. and was en route to Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

Southend Airport confirmed that the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft.”

Following the incident, EasyJet — one of the few airlines operating at Southend Airport — announced that all remaining flights to and from the airport had been “diverted to alternative airports or are no longer able to operate.”

The airline said it had reached out to affected customers scheduled to travel on Sunday and advised those flying on Monday to check its website for the latest updates.