Eleven killed in France plane crash during skydiving trip

Eleven people ⁠have been killed in a plane crash in France.

The aircraft crashed in the ⁠town ​of Tomblaine, a suburb of Nancy, in northeastern France ⁠on Sunday, the local ​prefecture ⁠said.

The plane ‌belonged to a parachutist school. ‌The pilot and all ‌10 passengers – five students and ⁠five instructors – died in the accident, the prefecture said.

The incident happened just after 11am.

The French interior minister was on his ‌way to ​the scene, the ‌interior ⁠ministry said.

Police have reportedly urged people to avoid the area around the airport in the Meurthe-et-Moselle region. Meurthe-et-Moselle national police posted on social media requesting people to “Imperatively avoid the Salvador Allende Street area entirely.”

It added: “To keep access clear for emergency services and law enforcement, do not go to the scene. Thank you for facilitating their intervention.”

A map of Tomblaine, France:

The Meurthe-et-Moselle prefecture confirmed the crash involved a civilian aircraft which departed from the Nancy-Essey aerodrome.

Adding: “An incident is currently underway in the municipality of Tomblaine involving a civil aircraft that took off from Nancy-Essey aerodrome.

“Yves SÉGUY, prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle, has decided to activate the departmental operational center (COD) in the presence of all operational services in order to ensure real-time monitoring of the event. The prefect is on site.”