Two French pilots are feared dead after a collision between two Rafale multi-role fighter jets during a training exercise on Wednesday.
The two Rafale aircraft took off from the French Air Force base at Saint-Dizier and collided, an Air Force spokesman confirmed. The pilot of one of the planes ejected before the collision and was found unharmed.
According to the army, all three people involved in the crash were French nationals. A search mission is now underway for the bodies of the other two pilots involved who were understood to be an instructor and a student.
“A search and rescue mission is being carried out by the armed forces, and everyone should avoid the area,” the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle said in a statement. The army will provide further information on the details of the accident near the Colombey-les-Belles commune, it added.
“We learn with sadness about the death of Capt. Sebastien Mabire and Lt. Matthis Laurens in an air accident in a Rafale training mission,” President Emmanuel Macron posted on X.
“The nation shares the grief of their families and brothers in arms at airbase 113 in Saint-Dizier,” he added.
The Rafale has become one of the star exports of the French aeronautics industry, with the planes already in service in Egypt, India, Greece, Indonesia, Croatia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
