At least six dead in Mumbai plane crash

At least six people have died after a plane crashed in a busy area of Mumbai.

It is not known how many people were on board the small chartered plane when it went down in the city on India's western coast, a fire official said.

The crash happened on Thursday near a multi-storey building under construction in the Ghatkopar area of India's financial and entertainment capital, and near many residential apartments.

Local media reported the plane crashed as it was preparing to land, and that two pilots, two flight engineers and two people on the ground had died.

It was also reported that the plane was a 12-seat Beechcraft King Air C90 which had crashed after taking off on a test flight from Mumbai's Juhu airstrip.

Images on social media showed parts of the wreckage burning on the ground, as well as emergency services at the scene.

Fire official R. Pawar said the bodies recovered from the wreckage were badly burned.

An investigation into the crash has been ordered.