11 people killed as skydiving plane crashes in France

A skydiving plane has crashed in eastern France, killing all 11 people on board, local authorities said, in one of the country's deadliest ever light aircraft incidents.

The plane crashed in the town of Tomblaine, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department said.

‌The pilot and all 10 passengers - ⁠five students ‌and five instructors - died in the incident, ⁠Yves Seguy said.

The students were a group of nurses, according to a source close to the case and confirmed by the head of Meurthe-et-Moselle's nursing council, Thierry Pechey.

"They were colleagues who had decided to go on a first skydiving jump, no doubt to unwind, as we're going through a difficult time with the heatwave," he said.

Mayor of the nearby city of Nancy, Mathieu Klein, said the victims "died in full view of their loved ones, who were preparing to film the tandem skydives".

The aircraft, registered in Germany, crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, close to a residential area and two roads, an AFP journalist reported.

"It's tragic, but it could have been even worse," said Mr Klein, noting the plane crashed "just a few metres from homes".

Tomblaine mayor Herve Feron said the plane fell "in a completely unexplained manner... during the ascent", describing it as crashing "straight down".

The aircraft had been "chartered for the occasion, for the skydiving weekend, as is regularly done", he added.

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear and a technical investigation had been opened, said Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy.

Police urged people on the social media platform X to "strictly avoid" the area around the airport to allow emergency services access.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot were expected to visit the scene this afternoon.

The crash in France comes after a similar crash in the US just two weeks ago. A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed on 14 June, killing all on board.