Eleven dead after plane carrying skydivers crashes in France

An aircraft belonging to a parachutist school crashed in France just after 11am this morning (28 June).

The pilot and all 10 passengers, believed to be five students and five skydiving instructors, died in the incident, the prefecture said.

The plane crashed in the town of Tomblaine, a suburb of Nancy, in northeastern France.

Emergency services are currently at the scene and the local police force has warned residents to avoid using the roads near the crash site.

Meurthe-et-Moselle National Police said on X: "Absolutely avoid the area around Rue Salvador Allende.

"To allow clear access for emergency services and law enforcement, do not go to the scene. Thank you for facilitating their intervention."

The Meurthe-et-Moselle prefecture confirmed the crash.

"An incident is currently underway in the municipality of Tomblaine involving a civil aircraft that took off from Nancy-Essey aerodrome," it said.

"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."

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