A civilian aircraft crashed near the northeastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board.

Police urged people to "strictly avoid" the area around the airport in Tomblaine, the French AFP news agency reported.

Who was on board the plane that crashed?

The plane was carrying a group of people on a skydiving trip.

Those killed were 10 passengers, including five students and five instructors, and the pilot, according to the prefecture.

Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, told reporters near the scene of the crash that authorities were collecting witness statements.

"There were no bystanders among the victims," Seguy said, speaking at a press conference.

He added that the plane belonged to a skydiving club and was taking part in a parachute jump.

The aircraft was registered in Germany, an AFP journalist reported. It crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who traveled to the scene, said that some of the victims' families "witnessed the aircraft falling with their own eyes. So there is tremendous emotion and an even greater psychological trauma."

What was the cause of the crash?

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

Speaking to broadcaster BFM, Seguy said the aircraft appeared to suffer damage before plunging vertically to the ground, near a shopping center.

"Give ‌or take a few meters and the accident ​could ⁠have caused collateral casualties," Seguy said.

Interior Minister Nunez would not speculate on why the plane crashed, but did say that the plane dropped out of the sky suddenly.

Authorities launched a technical investigation, according to Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy.

Edited by: Zac Crellin, Srinivas Mazumdaru

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