A microlight plane crashed into the roof of a house in western Germany on Saturday, leaving three people dead, including the mother of a young child, firefighters said.

The accident, the cause of which has not been determined, took place in Wesel, a city on North Rhine-Westphalia, according to local police.

The small plane crashed into an apartment built under the roof of the house, where a woman and her two-year-old child lived, causing a fire which gutted the place.

The mother was among the victims, along with two people aboard the plane, firefighters said.

The child was only slightly injured.