Eleven people were killed when a small skydiving plane crashed near Nancy, in northeastern France, on Sunday, according to authorities who spoke at the scene. Officials said everyone on board the aircraft died, in what is one of the deadliest light-aircraft accidents the region has seen in recent years.
The plane came down on a road close to a large supermarket, broadcasters reporting from the area said. The location, a built-up part of the Nancy area, meant emergency teams were able to reach the wreckage quickly, though they found no survivors among those who had been aboard.
The death toll was confirmed during a brief news conference held at the scene, where officials said all 11 people on the aircraft had been killed. Two broadcasters monitoring the response, Sky News and LiveNOW from Fox, both reported the same figure as information began to emerge in the hours after the crash.
Emergency services said they responded immediately once the alarm was raised, sealing off the surrounding area as crews worked. Authorities were also collecting statements from witnesses who had been nearby when the plane went down, in order to build a picture of the sequence of events.
An investigation has been opened to determine exactly what caused the crash. Officials described a scene strewn with debris scattered across the area, and specialist teams were expected to examine the wreckage as part of the inquiry into how the flight ended in disaster.
Details remained limited in the immediate aftermath, with only preliminary information released through agencies including Reuters and confirmed by local officials. France's interior minister was reported to be travelling to the scene, and officials in the region were expected to give a further news conference once more had been established about the flight and those who were on board.
The aircraft belonged to a skydiving club, the kind of light plane used to carry parachutists for jumps, both Sky News and LiveNOW from Fox reported. With the investigation still at an early stage, authorities cautioned that the full circumstances of the crash, including the identities of those killed, had yet to be confirmed.