Victoria police have confirmed that all five people on board the small plane that crashed this morning have died.
A Beechcraft plane crashed this morning into the DFO shopping centre at the Essendon Fields shortly after taking off from the Essendon airport at 9 am.
The crash is said to have been caused by an engine failure.
The crash led to the closure of the Tullamarine Freeway in both directions.
Victoria's Police Minister Lisa Neville said there were five people on board the plane.
Many social media users posted photos and videos of a large plume of smoke which followed an explosion.
The plane, a chartered Beechcraft did try to return to the airport after an engine failure but crashed in the shopping centre just next to the airport.
Superintendant Mick Frewen said the plane called in a mayday "close to taking off from the runway".
"We understand that there was potentially a catastrophic engine failure but we're unsure at this stage.
"It gained a slight degree of altitude before crashing into the back of the DFO," SBS News quoted him as saying.
