ALBAWABA - Two fighter jets pilots have lost their lives in a rare accident involving the Rafale military aircraft in France, while a third pilot was ejected.
French President Emmanuel Macron took to X to extend his condolences to the families of the deceased pilots. "It is with grief, we learned the news of the deaths of Captain Sébastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens, during an air accident during a Rafale training mission," Macron wrote.
"The nation shares the grief of their families and brothers in arms at airbase 113 in Saint-Dizier" in eastern France, Macron added.
One pilot ejected following the crash in northern France on Wednesday, while officials were searching desperately for a missing instructor and a student pilot aboard the second plane.
It was unclear what caused the crash, which officials said occurred above Colombey-les-Belles, a town in northeastern France.
"One of the pilots has been found, he is safe and sound. The search is still ongoing. Thanks to our armed forces as well as to the gendarmes mobilized in the search and to secure the area," Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on X.
Patrice Bonneaux, deputy mayor of Colombey-les-Belles, spoke to AFP about the details of the first moments following the crash.
"We heard a loud noise, around 12:30 pm (10.30 GMT). It was not the usual sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. It was a strange noise, a percussive sound" Bonneaux said.
