Shoreham Airshow pilot 'fighting for his life'

The pilot of a jet which crashed during Shoreham Airshow, is in a critical condition and "fighting for his life", police have said. Seven people died after a Hawker Hunter jet plane crashed onto a busy A-road after performing for festival-goers at the airshow.

Fourteen other people were treated at the scene, after the plane hit stationary vehicles on the busy A27. The pilot of a Hawker Hunter jet was pulled from the burning wreckage of his plane and taken by air ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

According to BBC News Supt Jane Derrick of Sussex Police said: "It is possible that tonight and tomorrow we are going to find more bodies at the scene." She added that Sussex Police had received about 40 calls from people concerned their relatives may have died or been injured in the crash.

A statement by the Shoreham Airshow said: "At about 1.20pm an aircraft hit several cars on the A27 just to the north of Shoreham Airport, where the Shoreham Airshow is taking place. There have been several casualties, but we have no further information on these at the moment."

Eyewitnesses said the plane may have been attempting a somersault manoeuvre before it came down at the show in West Sussex. A video of the crash has been published online showing the plane bursting into flames.

The single-seat Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet first developed in the 1950s.