Aircraft crashes into shops next to Essendon Airport and goes up in flames

 reports from Melbourne suggests that a charter plane has crashed into a shopping centre next to Essendon Airport.

According to Daily Mail, five people were onboard the 

Beechcraft charter plane to King Island, towards Tasmania.

Huge plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the airport in the city's north on Tuesday morning after the plane crashed just before 9am.

Witnesses said the plane got to about 100 feet, put out two mayday calls and then crashed.

The plane veered during take-off and crashed into shops at the Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) outlet mall, and into the Spotlight store.

The shopping centre opens at 10am.

The area is being evacuated and surrounding roads will be affected for some time, police said.

'There is constant explosions going off, there is black smoke billowing into the sky,' one caller told 3AW on Tuesday.

Motorists on the nearby Tullamarine freeway have posted videos and pictures of black smoke pouring out from the side of the DFO building.

Witnesses have described the horrific moment a charter plane crashed into a warehouse next to Essendon Airport on Tuesday morning, before it burst into flames.

The charter flight bound for King Island went down soon after take-off at 9am, with five people on board, Police Minister Lisa Neville confirmed.

Footage from onlookers shows smoke and flames billowing from the wreckage, with witnesses saying they saw the aircraft reach just 100feet before putting in two mayday calls.

'I saw a ball of flames,' one witness told Neil Mitchell. 'My heart's racing.'

'There is constant explosions going off, there is black smoke billowing into the sky,' another caller told 3AW on Tuesday.

Motorists on the nearby Tullamarine freeway have posted videos and pictures of black smoke pouring out from the side of the DFO building.

The Tullamarine and Calder freeways are now closed as firefighters work at the crash scene.

A wheel from the plane ended up on the Tullamarine Freeway, closing the road in both directions and delaying emergency services.

VicRoads warned commuters to avoid the area and expect heavy delays on all detours.