“It is with deep sadness that we learn of the death of Captain Sébastien Mabire and Lieutenant Mathis Laurens as a result of an air accident during a Rafale training flight,” the French president said in a statement.
Macron also expressed his condolences to the families and colleagues of the deceased pilots, TASS reports.
According to French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, two fighter planes collided in the air over the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the north-east of the country. The pilot of one of the fighters managed to eject and was rescued by the search team. Nothing was known as of Wednesday evening about the fate of the instructor and the pilot who were travelling on the second plane.
AFP said all the pilots involved in the accident had French citizenship. Both Rafales were assigned to a unit that trains pilots and navigators.
It should be noted that during this training mission the fighters flew to Germany to practice refuelling in flight. The collision occurred while they were returning to France.
Authorities have launched an investigation into what happened.
