Paris: Shortly after a helicopter crash in Saudi Arabia claimed 14 lives came the news of another air disaster, this one in France.
Eleven people were killed after a civilian aircraft belonging to a parachuting school crashed on Sunday in Tomblaine, near Nancy in northeastern France, Reuters reported.
The local prefecture said the aircraft crashed at around 11 am local time, killing all 11 people – the pilot and 10 passengers — on board.
Among the passengers were five student skydivers and five instructors.
Emergency services rushed to the accident site as authorities engaged in rescue operations and tried to assess the situation.
The plane crashed on a grassy patch alongside a road, in a residential area.
“I was driving by on my way to do my shopping at Auchan when I saw it dive and crash around 11 am,” a witness told the French daily L’Est Républicain.
The aircraft was a German-registered Pilatus, which is commonly used for parachute ops and skydiving activities, local media reported.
BFMTV quoted Thierry Pechey, president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle branch of the Order of Independent Nurses, as saying that the victims were possibly self-employed nurses from Nancy who were participating in their first skydiving experience.
Some of the victims’ relatives witnessed the crash, having gathered to watch the group’s introductory skydiving session, local media reported.
An investigation has been initiated to determine the cause of the crash.
