Spain: NATO plane crash kills 10, injures 21

2015-01-26 11

Ten people have been killed and 21 others injured when a NATO fighter jet crashed at an airbase in central Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said two pilots were among the dead. The other eight were French citizens.

Rajoy said there are “many injured,” ten of them French and 11 Italians.

One witness to the crash said that the accident happened very fast. “Just after taking-off on the runway, I noticed the plane turned right and hit the ground. It then exploded,” he said.

The Greek plane was part of the Tactical Leadership programme and was taking part in a training exercise.

A defence ministry statement said it lost power and crashed shortly after take off from Spain’s Los Llanos airbase.

The plane hit other aircraft that were parked at the base. Other pilots and mechanics were working in the immediate area of the crash.