bin laden jey crash in Hampshire
© Twitter/tubman89The £7million private jet was owned by a company linked to the Bin Laden family based in the Jeddah HQ
Family members of Osama Bin Laden were on board a plane which crashed in Hampshire, the Saudi Arabian embassy in the UK has said.

The private jet crashed near Blackbushe Airport, Yateley, on Friday.

In a statement on Twitter, the Saudi ambassador to the UK, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud, offered condolences to the Bin Laden family.

The embassy said it was working with the British authorities to investigate the incident.

The statement said: "His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud... has paid his condolences to the family and relatives of Mohammed bin Laden at Blackbushe airport in Britain for the great loss they have suffered as a result of the crash of the plane that was carrying the family."

The embassy added that it was working with the British authorities to ensure the speedy handover of the bodies for funerals and burials in Saudi Arabia.

The plane - an Embraer Phenom 300 - is reported to have belonged to an aviation firm owned by the Saudi-based family of the former al-Qaeda leader.

Bin laden crash in Hampshire
© nathangfilmAccording to eye-witnesses, the jet exploded as it crashed into the car auction site at the airfield
The plane, which was arriving from Milan, Italy, crashed into a British Car Auctions site at the airfield shortly after 15:00 BST, exploding on impact.

Its pilot and all three passengers were killed but no-one on the ground was injured, Hampshire Constabulary said.

In a statement, Blackbushe Airport said the jet had crashed near the end of the runway while attempting to make a landing.

A spokeswoman for Milan Malpensa Airport confirmed the plane had left at 13:30 BST on its way to Hampshire.

The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation tweeted that the plane was a Saudi-registered private aircraft, and said it would support the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in its investigation.

Hampshire police are carrying out a joint investigation with the AAIB.