Skydiving Plane Crash in France Kills 11 People.

A skydiving plane crashed in north-eastern France, killing all 11 people on board, according to the region’s prefect. The parachuting-school aircraft crashed near Nancy at 11:00 a. m. , said Yves Séguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region. The pilot and 10 passengers — five students and five instructors — died, the prefecture reported.

Séguy said emergency services responded immediately, adding that authorities were collecting statements from witnesses. Emergency services, including medical teams and a large number of firefighters, were deployed to the scene. Police urged the public to stay away from the area. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear, and a technical investigation has been opened, according to a French deputy public prosecutor.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez was on his way to the scene, his staff said. The prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle has brought together all relevant services to ensure real-time monitoring of the situation.

The civilian aircraft crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday. It went down at 11:00 a. local time while reportedly carrying skydivers on a training flight.