This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A plane carrying parachutists for a skydiving trip crashed in southern Belgium on Saturday, killing all 11 people aboard, officials have said.

Twenty minutes after the aircraft took off from a small airfield close to Namur, witnesses saw the plane lose height very quickly, then crash in a field near Fernelmont, said the town's mayor, Jean-Claude Nihoul.

The skydivers were not able to jump out, Nihoul said in a telephone interview. Ten skydivers and the pilot were killed and no one was hurt on the ground, he said, adding that three parachutes were found near the crash site.

The Belgian prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, immediately confirmed the news of the crash and said his thoughts are with the families of the victims.