POLICE have released details of the two men who were killed after their plane crashed into a lake.

The plane took off with two others from North Weald airfield early on Thursday, April 28, and crashed in to Ulting Lake in Langford, near Maldon, at around 1pm.

The wreckage was lifted from the water during the evening with the bodies of the pilot and passenger still in it.

One of the men killed, was aged 33 from Cirencester in Gloucestershire and the other was a 43-year-old British man who was living in the Netherlands.

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

The light aircraft, a Yak 52 aerobics trainer, was reportedly flying in formation with two other planes when it clipped a tree and crashed.

The two other planes returned safely to the airfield.

The fuselage involved has now been removed for examination by inspectors from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

The Guardian is awaiting further information on the post-mortem examinations which took place on Saturday (April 30).