Fighter crashes in southeast France

AN AIR Force Mirage jet crashed in hills near Viens, southeast France, this morning.

Authorities confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot ejected and parachuted to the ground safely as the two-seater Mirage 2000B craft went down in an uninhabited area on the borders of the Vaucluse and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence departments.

The two crew members, from the Orange base, were on a routine training mission and have been taken to Oppedette, officials said. The cause of the crash has not yet been ascertained.

There have been no reports that anyone has been injured.

It is the second time a Mirage jet has crashed during a training exercise in a few months.

In May, a single-seater Mirage 2000-5F crashed in a field near houses in a tiny village about 100km north of Nancy. The pilot also managed to eject safely.

Photo: I Wish I Was Flying