A PILOT and his passenger have died after crashing into a residential area whilst attempting to photograph their houses from the plane.

The light aircraft crashed into an urbanisation in Pilar de la Horadada (Alicante) yesterday morning at around 11.20hrs.

The pilot, a Spanish national in his 40s, was killed instantly.

His passenger, an Englishman aged 76, was treated at the scene for injuries and taken by ambulance to Alicante General Hospital, but lost his life around two-and-a-half hours after the crash.

The accident occurred close to where the two men lived, in a plot on the Pinar de Campoverde urbanisation, where the craft collided with a pine tree.

Serious damage was caused to the car park of the plot and a fire broke out, but this was quickly extinguished.

Emergency services believe the crash could have been caused by the engine stopping.

The plane had set out from the Los Garranchos aerodrome in San Javier (Murcia).

Manuel García Jiménez, friend of the pilot and co-owner of the plane, said the deceased was very experienced in flying.