The Irish Ambassador to Italy has confirmed that an Irish woman in her 40s is amongst the 103 passengers who died in the Libyan plane crash this morning.

It has been reported that the woman was in her early 40s and lived in both Britain and South Africa.

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin said “Arrangements are being made to inform the family and my Department is ready to provide all possible assistance at this difficult time.”

He added “I would like to extend my sympathies to all those families who have suffered bereavement in this tragic accident.”

Miraculously one of the 104 people on the plane survived. A 10-year-old Dutch boy is currently undergoing surgery but is expected to survive.

Members of the Dutch foreign ministry are waiting at the hospital to identify the young boy who has suffered some bone injuries.

There were 62 Dutch people travelling on the plane as part of the Dutch Royal Touring Club. The young boy was the only member of the club to survive.

The Afriqiyah Airlines flight 8U771 was en-route to London Gatwick, from Johannesburg, when it crashed. It came down just short of the runway at Tripoli International Airport, Libya.

A breakdown of the destinations of passengers on board was provided by the Airports Company of South Africa: seven to London, 32 to Brussels, 42 to Dusseldorf, one to Paris, and 11 to Libya.

The cleanup is continuing at the crash site. Officials have recovered the plane’s flight recorder which they hope will give some insight into the flight’s last minutes.