THE chairman of Manx2.com Noel Hayes has issued a statement saying today has been "a terrible day".

Six passengers were killed earlier today when a flight, operated by Flightline BCN on behalf of Manx2.com, crashed at Cork Airport shortly before 10am.

This is the statement in full:

"This has been a terrible day and our thoughts are, first and foremost, with the families of those who lost their lives and those who were injured.

"We need to establish what happened this morning and we will continue to work with the authorities throughout their investigation.

"Members from my team have been in Cork to liaise with the relevant authorities.

"Manx2.com has never experienced anything like this in our five year history and the tragedy has been a terrible shock to us all.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives and we hope that the people who were injured make a full recovery.

"I also want to pay tribute to the emergency services in Cork who were extremely quick and professional in their response. In addition we are very grateful for the support provided by Cork Airport and Belfast City Airport.

"We will continue to do everything we can to help those affected in any way by this tragedy."