A CIRENCESTER man died when his light aircraft crashed into an Essex lake.

The man, along with another, died when their two-seater Yak 52 plane crashed into the lake at Ulting Lane, Langford, near Maldon at 1pm on Thursday.

One of the men killed was aged 33 and from Cirencesterand the other was a 43-year-old British national living in the Netherlands.

Essex Police said it was unlikely the two men would be formally identified before Tuesday.

The bodies of the pilot and passenger were still in the wreckage when it began to be lifted from the private fishing lake on Thursday evening.

The fuselage involved has now been removed for examination by inspectors from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) who returned to the scene on Friday.

The Russian-built Yak 52 is believed to have clipped trees before crashing.

Emergency services searched the lake at Langford, near Maldon The plane, an aerobatics trainer, was one of three aircraft seen flying in formation shortly before the crash. All had taken off from nearby North Weald airfield.

Emergency services were called by a member of the public and found the two-seater aircraft in the lake with its tail about 10ft (3m) underwater.

Teams from the Essex Police marine unit and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service used boats to search the private fishing lake and Metropolitan Police divers also took part in the operation.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "The wreckage of the plane fuselage involved in the crash at a private fishing lake near Ulting has now been removed for examination by inspectors from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

"The cause of the crash is still to be determined and becomes the responsibility of the AAIB."