MADRID: At least four people were killed when an Airbus A400M military plane crashed near Spain's southern Seville airport during a training flight, the first fatal accident involving the new transport craft.

Andalusia's regional prefect Antonio Sanz, who heads the local administration, said a burnt body had been found in the wreckage, bringing the death toll to four. Previously a spokeswoman for emergency services had said “there are at least three dead and two seriously injured. “She said the authorities were still trying to establish how many people had been on board when the plane crashed in a non-residential area around a mile north of Seville airport.

The airport was closed to traffic for about an hour.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said there had been “eight to 10 people on board." Speaking on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, where he was attending a campaign meeting, Rajoy sent his condolences to the victims, Spanish news agencies reported.

Aviation sources confirmed the plane was one of Airbus' new A400M troop transporters, which are assembled at a factory in Seville.

Airbus Defence and Space, the Airbus division responsible for military aircraft, said the plane was destined for Turkey.

The group sent a team of experts to the crash scene.

If confirmed as an accident, it would be the first since the aircraft, which was fraught by development and delivery delays, went into service.