NANCY, France — A skydiving plane crashed in northeastern France on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said.
The plane suffered a malfunction and “fell almost vertically” after taking off from the Nancy-Essey airfield on the outskirts of the city of Nancy, the region’s prefect, Yves Séguy, said.
It crashed on the edge of a built-up area near the airfield, he told broadcaster BFM-TV.
“Had it occurred just a few dozen meters away, the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” Séguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said.
The plane belonged to a skydiving club and was taking part in a parachute jump, he said.
Emergency services responded immediately and were providing psychological support to several relatives of the victims, he said, adding that authorities were also collecting witness statements.
Séguy said the crash shocked witnesses who saw it.
“We are deploying all available resources,” he said, including emergency medical teams, fire services, police and mental health support for the victims’ families.
The dead included five parachuting instructors, five clients and the pilot, according the local newspaper L’Est Républicain.
A local 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 yards from the plane.
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