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Police fear air show crash toll could rise to 20 as wreckage from plane is removed from road

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Flowers are placed on the Shoreham Tollbridge that crosses the River Adur near the location where a Hawker Hunter fighter jet crashed on a busy road near Shoreham-by-sea, West Sussex, England, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. British police on Sunday said the death toll from an airshow crash is "highly likely" to increase after a fighter jet slammed into a busy main road on Saturday. The initial death toll was seven. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE (The Associated Press)

A woman lays flowers on the Shoreham Tollbridge that crosses the River Adur near the location where a Hawker Hunter fighter jet crashed on a busy road near Shoreham-by-sea, West Sussex, England, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. British police on Sunday said the death toll from an airshow crash is "highly likely" to increase after a fighter jet slammed into a busy main road on Saturday. The initial death toll was seven. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE (The Associated Press)

A crane lifts a section of the Hawker Hunter jet that crashed into a highway Saturday after it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver during the Shoreham Airshow, near Shoreham, England, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of London, Monday Aug. 24, 2015. Police said the death toll in the crash will probably rise as emergency workers probe wreckage on the freeway where the plane went down, plowing through cars on the road and exploding in a huge fireball. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) (The Associated Press)

Police say the death toll in the crash of a vintage jet fighter in southeastern England will probably rise as emergency workers probe wreckage on the freeway where the plane went down.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry of Sussex Police told the BBC he'd be surprised if the number of deaths "doesn't go above" the 11 currently known. But Barry said Monday that he "would be really surprised if it would be more than 20."

The Hawker Hunter jet plummeted onto a highway after it failed to pull out of a loop maneuver during an aerial display Saturday, exploding in a huge fireball and plowing through cars on the road. Wreckage is set to be removed Monday.

The Civil Aviation Authority has begun reviewing safety procedures