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		</div><p>A small plane which crashed in a fireball at Malta International Airport soon after take-off, killing all five crew members aboard, had been heading to Libya to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government.</p>
<p>The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner exploded in a huge ball of flame and smoke shortly after take-off on Monday morning.</p>
<p>A statement from the Maltese government said all five victims were French.</p>
<p>It added that the flight was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, including drugs and people-smuggling.</p>
<p>Part of the burning wreckage ended up on a road outside the perimeter of the airport.<br />
The plane was on its way to Misrata on the Libyan coast.</p>
<p>Malta International Airport has been temporarily closed until the debris is cleared, with over a dozen flights delayed or cancelled, according to a notice on the airport website.</p>
<p>The five victims were three French defence ministry officials and two private contractors.<br />
Libya is the main point of departure for the tens of thousands of migrants who have been paying smugglers to bring them toward Europe by boat.</p>
<p>Malta’s International Airport is used for surveillance flights to Libya due to its proximity. The government said the French surveillance operation has been active for about five months.</p>
<p>The Metroliner was registered in the US and leased to a Luxembourg company, CAE Aviation group, which supplied the two contractors who were killed.</p>
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