A civilian aircraft carrying a group of skydivers has crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine, killing all 11 people on board in one of the country’s deadliest light aircraft accidents in recent years.

The victims included the pilot, five skydiving instructors, and five students belonging to a local parachutist school. According to Yves Séguy, the prefect of the eastern department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, the Germany-registered aircraft fell suddenly and crashed into a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, narrowly missing a nearby residential zone and two major roads.

Séguy confirmed during a press conference that there were no bystanders or collateral casualties on the ground.

Emergency services cordoned off the area to allow unrestricted access for recovery operations, while medical and psychological support teams were deployed to the airfield to assist witnessing relatives and bystanders.

Amaury Lacote, the deputy public prosecutor in Nancy, confirmed that a formal technical investigation has been opened to determine the exact cause of the crash. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez is also expected to visit the crash site to assess the situation firsthand.