Eleven people were killed when a skydiving plane crashed soon after takeoff from an airport in northeastern France on Sunday, the local authorities said.
French news media reported that the plane was carrying 10 skydivers — five instructors and five students — for a scheduled jump when it crashed around 11 a.m. in a field near the city of Nancy.
The pilot and all the passengers were killed, the authorities said.
The plane crashed “suddenly, in the immediate vicinity of the airfield,” Yves Séguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said on BFM-TV, a French news network.
The aircraft came down not far from a residential area of the commune of Tomblaine, but no one on the ground was reported hurt, he said.
Dozens of firefighters and rescue personnel were deployed to the scene. An emergency psychological unit was set up to support victims’ families and loved ones, the police said.
The group aboard the plane had been scheduled to take part in tandem skydiving lessons, Mathieu Klein, the mayor of Nancy, told local news media. Many of the victims’ friends and family were watching as the plane crashed, he said.
“There are numerous collateral psychological victims, since families and friends were present and witnessed the plane crash,” he said.
It is at least the second deadly accident involving recreational skydiving this month.
On June 14, 12 people were killed near Kansas City, Mo., when the skydiving plane they were on crashed into a field soon after takeoff and burst into flames.
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