A Northern Ireland man who survived a plane crash near Libya in which at least 17 people died has been speaking about the passengers' terrifying ordeal.

Stewart Bonar, 59, from Limavady in County Londonderry escaped with minor injuries after a Belfast-built Shorts SD-360 aircraft plunged into the sea on Thursday.

Five men, including one Briton are still missing and 17 men from eight countries were killed when the plane ditched in the Mediterranean five miles from its destination at Marsa el Brega, a petrochemicals complex in northern Libya.

Mr Bonar who is in hospital in Marsa el-Brega with a broken leg and cuts and bruises to his ribs, arms and ankles had been sitting in the front row when the plane came down.

'Plane was sinking'

He said the plane flooded within seconds.

"I could see the plane coming towards the water very, very fast.

"There was just a smash and then I was underwater.

"The plane flooded with water inside a couple of seconds.

"I looked down and could see my foot trapped but I was able to pull clear.

"My shoe came off and I was able to go to the surface," he told BBC Radio Ulster.

"There were a lot of people in the water and they were climbing up onto the wings of the plane and then the plane started to sink, so we grabbed what we could.

"I grabbed a seat and started to swim to shore."

Mr Bonar added: "Those that got out were able to get out through holes in the fueslage and there were a lot of guys who didn't get out.

"For a brief moment I didn't think I was going to make it."

'Four mates lost'

Mr Bonar said he felt very lucky to be alive, but that his thoughts were with his mates who had died in the crash.

"There were two guys from the house that I lived with and two other guys I was very close to and all four are gone," he said.

Mr Bonar was among 41 people on the flight including 38 passengers, all employees of the Libyan state-run Sirte Oil Company, a flight attendant and the two pilots.

Nineteen people were rescued from the sea by local fishing boats.

The British ambassador in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Richard Dalton, said is was unlikely that any more survivors will be found now.

Engine failure investigation

The plane was the last but one of a batch of 164 manufactured over a period of eight years and was delivered to the Swiss-based company Avisto in 1990.

A spokesman for Shorts confirmed the company had made the plane involved in the crash and has offered to help with investigations into the crash.

Ken Brundle, the vice president of Shorts, said: "We have offered assistance to Avisto, the operator, and also through the Foreign Office, to the Libyan government and to the accident investigation people so that we can assist in determining the cause of the accident."

He added: "The 360 has an excellent safety record and about 118 are still registered for operation."

According to Avisto, the aircraft had been leased to Sirte Oil Co in Libya to transport workers between its headquarters and various oil fields.

A Swiss official said shortly before Marsa el-Brega airport, the pilot reported that both engines had stopped working.

British air accident investigators are in Libya to assist the crash inquiry. They will examine the wreckage, the twin-engined plane's data recorders and radio messages for clues to the accident.

Investigations are likely to centre on whether fuel problems caused an apparent simultaneous engine failure in the SD-360, which has a reputation for reliability, forcing the pilots to ditch in the sea.