Five people have been killed after a light plane crashed into a shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Four United States citizens and their Australian pilot are confirmed dead following the accident.

The light aircraft is believed to have suffered engine failure shortly after take-off from Essendon Airport.

No-one is believed to have been injured on the ground at the Direct Factory Outlets centre.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it would investigate how the twin-engine Beechcraft B200 King Air crashed soon after 09:00 local time,

The passengers were on rote to Tasmania’s King Island, popular with tourists for its beaches and dairy farms

It is situated 245 kilometres south of Melbourne in Bass Strait.

Essendon Airport has been closed.

However, Melbourne Airport and Avalon Airport, the main local hubs for commercial airlines remain unaffected.