MARSEILLE: Three people, including two military officials, were killed on Saturday when their light aircraft crashed in a hilly region in the south of France, the army and regional prosecutor said.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the crash close to the village of Gonfaron in the Var department of southern France, regional prosecutor Patrice Camberou said.

Criminal and forensic investigators were at the scene.

According to the French army’s southern command, two of the three victims were soldiers from the nearby 2nd combat helicopter regiment training base.

Local firefighters said earlier they had been called out for an aircraft accident, which had caused a fire in the surrounding vegetation that was quickly extinguished.

The stricken aircraft was located with the help of water-bombing helicopters, the fire service said.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023