Four people are dead after the planes they were in crashed mid-air at a regional Victorian airport.

Emergency services were called to two separate crash scenes near the Mangalore airport about 11.30am on Wednesday.

4 dead after suspected mid-air plane crash at Mangalore, north of Melbourne

Two planes crash mid-air close to Melbourne airporthttps://t.co/uoQZSDZleN pic.twitter.com/t90sxLwKxs — Otto (@ottoclinton) February 19, 2020

“It is believed two aircraft have collided mid-air before crashing,” Victoria police said in a statement. “Two occupants in each aircraft have died at the scenes.”

All four people are yet to be formally identified.

Breaking: Several people are feared dead after two planes were involved in a crash at Mangalore, two hours north of Melbourne. https://t.co/KAwAjl6NGJ — The Age (@theage) February 19, 2020

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said the incident involved a twin-engined Piper PA-44-180 Seminole aircraft, call sign VH-JQF, registered to flight school Moorabbin Aviation Services and another twin-engined plane, a Beechcraft D95A Travel Air, registered to a private owner at Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula with the call sign VH-AEM.

The Piper Seminole had taken off from Mangalore airport minutes earlier while the Beechcraft Travel Air had flown from the Mornington Peninsular.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have been notified.

Mangalore airport is open to recreational flyers, those learning to fly and is also used by state and federal government departments.

Police are investigating and will prepare a report for the coroner.