Five dead after two army helicopters collide in France

CABASSE, France: Five people were killed on Friday after two army training helicopters crashed into each other near a lake in southern France, police said, one of the deadliest such accidents involving the country´s armed forces in recent years.

The collision took place at around 8:30 am (0730 GMT) near the lake of Carces, about 50 kilometres northwest of the resort of Saint-Tropez. "The helicopters collided. There were three army personnel in one and two in the other. All are dead," police said in the nearby town of Brignoles. The cause of the collision was still unclear.

All the people on board were officers, a source close to the inquiry said. "One of the helicopters broke up and crashed onto a road, the second crashed about 150 to 200 metres away and burned," said Jean-Luc Videlaine, prefect of the Var region. The Gazelle helicopters from the army´s light aviation division were based at a flight school in Cannet-des-Maures.