Amsterdam crash

Nine people are known to have died when Turkish Airways flight 1951 came down near Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, at 0931 GMT this morning. The Boeing 737-800 broke up into three pieces. Eye witnesses state that survivors started to emerge immediately after the plane came to a halt. It was seen to stall, then crash to the ground. The crash site is close to the A9 motorway, which was closed whilst motorists stopped to look.

Schiphol Airport has since reopened, allowing a plane to land which is carrying friends and family of those on board. The cause of the crash is not yet known, but a loss of power appears likely.

Wednesday 25 February

Although the day started very wet, the sun is out and it's all blue skies. The forecast mentions gales, which are due later today. For the moment, we have a westerly wind force 5.

An airliner has crashed just short of the runway at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, Netherlands. There are reported to be about 20 injuries, and the aircraft broke in three pieces on coming down in a recently ploughed field. This is also hampering rescue efforts. Whether there are fatalities is as yet unclear - latest report quote 5 deaths. Am following a live TV-feed from NOS.nl (in Dutch) via the Internet.

Prime Minister's Questions here in the UK has been cancelled followed the death of the young son of the Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron. Ivan Cameron, aged 6, had been suffering from cerebral palsy, and was born severely disabled.