A skydiving plane crashed in north-eastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people onboard, according to the region's prefect. The accident occurred near the city of Nancy at approximately 11am local time.
Plane fell vertically after takeoff
The pilot and 10 passengers—five students and five instructors—died in the crash, the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle reported. The plane suffered a malfunction and “fell almost vertically” after taking off from Nancy-Essey airfield on the outskirts of Nancy, said Yves Séguy, the prefect of the region.
“The plane, which was transporting 11 people, fell suddenly immediately next to the aerodrome. There were no collateral victims,” Séguy told reporters. The aircraft crashed on the edge of a built-up area near the airfield. “Had it occurred just a few dozen metres away, the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” he added.
Victims were nurses on first skydive
The students were a group of nurses, according to a source close to the case and confirmed by Thierry Pechey, head of Meurthe-et-Moselle’s nursing council. “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,” Pechey said.
The parachutists were to have jumped as tandems, Nancy Mayor Mathieu Klein told public broadcaster France Info. In tandem jumps, two people—often an instructor and a first-time skydiver—are attached together for the descent. Klein said some of those taking part had families and friends who had come to watch and saw the plane fall from the sky.
Emergency response and witness accounts
Emergency services responded immediately and were providing psychological support to several relatives of the victims, Séguy said, adding that authorities were also collecting witness statements. “We are deploying all available resources,” he said, including emergency medical teams, fire services, police and mental health support.
A resident identified as John Curaku by BFM-TV told the broadcaster that he was in his garden when he heard what sounded like a plane’s engine stopping, immediately followed by a bang. He said he went to the crash site and “there were no signs of life”, with two of the bodies thrown a few metres from the plane.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez was on his way to the scene, his staff said. The crash is under investigation.
