Military plane crash kills 7 in France

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 18, 2003

Military plane crash kills 7 in France

An army transport plane crashed on Wednesday during a parachuting exercise in southern France, killing seven soldiers aboard, France's Defense Ministry announced.

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An army transport plane crashed on Wednesday during a parachuting exercise in southern France, killing seven soldiers aboard, France's Defense Ministry announced.

The Casa 235 military transport plane took off from an airbase in Toulouse on a parachuting mission in the country's Vicdessos Valley. The plane went down at 10:30 a.m. local time (0930 GMT) inan unpopulated, mountainous region after nine paratroopers jumped out. The crew members and remaining paratroopers, six men and a woman still on board, died in the crash.

President Jacques Chirac learnt of the news with "great sadness" and has extended condolences to the families of the victims, a statement from the president's office said. It added that the president had ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.

The crash was "a tragic reminder of the harsh demands of the army profession and the risks it entails," the statement said.

The Casa 235 is a propeller-driven aircraft with a passenger capacity for 40 people. The French military is equipped with 20 Casa 235 planes.

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