3 DEAD AFTER LIGHT PLANES COLLIDE IN SOUTHWEST SYDNEY

SYDNEY, Oct 26 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Three people were dead after two light planes collided in mid-air before crashing in Sydney's southwest on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

Emergency crews were called to Belimbla Park, approximately 65 kilometres southwest of central Sydney, just before midday local time following reports that two aircraft had collided and crashed.

Police in the state of New South Wales (NSW) confirmed on Saturday afternoon that three men were found dead at the scene.

Two crime scenes in close proximity were established at the sites where the two planes crashed into the ground.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that one of the planes burst into flames on impact.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents, said in a statement that the aircraft involved in the collision were a Jabiru and a Cessna 182.

"A team of transport safety investigators from the ATSB's Canberra office, with experience in aircraft operations and maintenance, is preparing to deploy to the accident sites of both aircraft to begin evidence-collecting activities," it said.

"Over coming days, investigators will undertake site mapping, examine the wreckage of both aircraft and recover any relevant components for further examination at the ATSB's technical facilities in Canberra."

Police advised local residents to avoid the area of the incident.  

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA