Two fighter planes crash in France, killing two

Two French military jets collided in midair near Colombey-les-Belles, northeastern France, on Wednesday, killing two military personnel and leaving a sole survivor, French officials said.

France’s Army of Air and Space said they were returning from a refuelling mission in Germany.

In a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron identified the fatalities in the Rafale aircraft accident as Captain Sebastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens.

French media said one of the two was a trainee pilot and the other a pilot. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X that the remaining pilot survived.

The planes were based at the Saint-Dizier military installation in northeastern France.