Eleven people were killed in France when a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff, local authorities said.
According to French media, 10 skydivers were on board—five instructors and five students who were due to make a scheduled jump. The plane crashed at around 11:00 a.m. in a field near Nancy in the country’s northeast.
The pilot and all passengers were killed.
The plane went down “suddenly, in the immediate vicinity of the airfield,” Yves Séguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, told BFM-TV.
The aircraft crashed near a residential area of the commune of Tomblaine, but, according to the prefect, no one on the ground was injured.
Dozens of firefighters and rescuers were sent to the scene. Police said emergency psychological assistance had been set up for the relatives and loved ones of the victims.
Nancy Mayor Mathieu Klein told local media that the group was supposed to take part in tandem-jump training. Many friends and relatives of the victims were nearby and saw the moment of the crash.
“There are numerous psychological victims, since families and friends were present at the site and witnessed the plane falling,” he said.
This is already at least the second fatal crash linked to recreational skydiving in a month.
On June 14, 12 people were killed near Kansas City, Missouri: a plane carrying skydivers crashed in a field shortly after takeoff and caught fire.