Sweden's Malmo airport closed after light plane accident

STOCKHOLM - A light aircraft made an emergency landing at Sweden's Malmo airport on Sunday afternoon, causing the airport to stop all air traffic, reported Swedish news SVT.

Two men, an instructor at his 60s and a student at his 40s, were aboard when the accident happened at around 4:30 pm local time. Both men are physically unharmed.

"The flight tower lost contact with the aircraft and we sent out the helicopter," Anders Lannholm with Sweden Maritime and Air Rescue Center told SVT.

"Shortly thereafter, they saw that the aircraft was coming in for landing without contact with the airplane tower, and saw the plane gliding onto the runway with sparks," Lannholm said.

The airplane experienced technical problems in the air, which led to an emergency belly landing. The airplane is damaged and fuel leaks have occurred, according to the report.

Lannholm told SVT that the entire airport is closed off and that the airport has sent out all the resources it has to clean the leaked fuel and stand by for a potential rescue operation.

Malmo airport, previously known as Sturup, is the fourth busiest airport in Sweden. Air traffic at the airport is expected to resume at around 8:00 p.m., according to an announcement on the airport's website.