10 dead in NATO plane crash
Spain ,Tue, 27 Jan 2015
Smoke rises after a Greek F-16
fighter plane crashed during NATO training at the Albacete air base in Spain.
REUTERS/L.De Miguel Eight French nationals and two Greeks were killed and 21
people injured when a Greek fighter plane crashed during NATO training in
Spain, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said. The F-16 crashed at about
3:20pm on Monday (local time) shortly after taking off at a training centre in
Albacete, 260 km (160 miles) southeast of the capital Madrid. "There are
also quite a lot of people injured ... 10 French people, 11 Italians,"
Rajoy said in an interview with Telecinco TV.
The
Greek fighter jet was carrying out a NATO training exercise at the Spanish base
but something went wrong during the take-off. "The plane lost power,
crashing into the parking area for planes, crashing into various planes that
were parked there," the defence ministry said in a statement. Two pilots
on board were among the dead and other pilots and mechanics were underneath the
plane in the parking area, according to Spanish media reports. French Mirage
and Italian Alpha Jet planes were parked when the plane crashed, the defence
ministry said. Five of the injured were taken to a specialist burns unit at La
Paz Hospital in Madrid while the others were treated at a hospital in Albacete.
"I am deeply saddened," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said
in a statement. "This is a tragedy which affects the whole NATO family. I
express my heartfelt condolences to the loved ones and the nations of those who
lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured." Reuters
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