Three Australians injured when plane crashes in South Africa

Three Australians have been injured in a plane crash just outside South Africa’s capital Pretoria which killed one passenger.

The Australian victims were among 20 injured when the Convair-340 plane came down during a test flight on Tuesday and crashed through a factory.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said it was ‘providing consular assistance to three Australians injured in a plane crash,’ the Daily Telegraph reported. 

A charter plane lays in a field in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday July 10, 2018. The plane crashed killing one person and injuring 20 others with injuries ranging from minor to critical, according to Russel Meiring, a spokesman for paramedic company ER24. (AP Photo/Phil Magakoe)

‘For privacy reasons we are unable to provide further details,’ he said. 

The plane crashed about five kilometres east of the airport and four people were briefly trapped inside the wreckage.  

A Tshwane Emergency Services spokesman said the injured were in a serious or critical condition and the scene was chaotic.   

There was still little known about the incident as authorities refused to name the victims of the crash. 

The plane was preparing for a flight to the Aviodrome air museum in the Netherlands, and was expected to arrive on July 23.

In a statement the Aviodrome, near the central Dutch city of Lelystad, said it was ‘hugely shocked.’

It said that the US-built plane, which had a capacity of 44 people, crashed during the takeoff procedure. 

The Aviodrome’s marketing manager, Rosella Passier told AFP in The Hague that they are not sure what happened but the plane experienced trouble shortly after takeoff.

There is still little known about the incident as authorities have refused to name the victims of the crash (AP Photo/Phil Magakoe)