Rescuers have told of a ’scene from Hell’ after 153 people were killed when a tourist plane crashed and burst into flames at Madrid airport.

The Spanair jet with 164 passengers and nine crew on board split in two as it smashed back on to the runway just seconds after lifting off. Of the passengers, 20 were children and two were babies.

There were reports of an explosion and a fire breaking out in an engine. The plane, an MD-82, had earlier been delayed from take-off for an hour for checks on a reported mechanical fault.

An unconfirmed report said the crash happened on the pilot’s second attempt at a take-off.

The pilot had returned to the stand after his original attempt because he realised there was a problem with the left engine, Javier Fernandez Garcia, the flight coordinator at Madrid airport, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

There were several children on board, including two babies. It was not immediately known if the babies were among the dead.

The Foreign Office said it was not aware of any British nationals involved in the crash.

Around 27 survivors were pulled alive from the wreckage and 23 of them were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

At least one is thought to have died on the way to hospital.