Eleven people were killed on Sunday when a skydiving plane crashed in the northeastern French town of Tomblaine, according to a regional official.
The aircraft – which was carrying 11 people – crashed at 11 a.m. local time during a skydiving session, according to Yves Séguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region where the plane went down.
Five instructors and five independent nurses appeared to be among the casualties, CNN affiliate BFMTV cited Thierry Pechey, president of the Meurthe-et-Moselle Council of Independent Nurses as saying. The pilot also died in the crash.
A significant emergency response has been mobilized, with police units and 50 firefighters deployed to the scene, according to local authorities.
Séguy told BFMTV the plane crashed “almost vertically, right next to a housing development” on the edge of the airfield. “There were many witnesses at the scene of the accident,” including relatives of the victims, he said.
