The aircraft, used by a parachuting school and carrying five trainee parachutists and ​five instructors, went down shortly after take-off from Nancy-Essey airport, officials ​said.

Some of the trainees’ family members were at the small ⁠regional airport and witnessed the crash, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told ​reporters.

“The plane crashed about 300 meters from the runway,” he told reporters ​at the scene. “The emotion here is intense.”

A witness who declined to be identified told Reuters the plane was climbing at around 11:00am local time when ​the engine noise suddenly stopped, as if it had cut out.

He ​said he saw no fire, explosion or other visible sign of a problem before ‌the ⁠crash.

Yves Seguy, the regional prefect, told BFM the aircraft plunged vertically to the ground.

The crash occurred in a residential area near a shopping centre, with the wreckage of the single-engine plane sitting on a ​bike path.

“Give or take ​a few ⁠meters, and the accident could have caused collateral casualties,” Seguy said.

Media reports said the aircraft was registered in ​Germany. Germany’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment.

It was not immediately clear whether the extreme heat played a role in the incident, with the highest temperature ever recorded in Nancy, the city near Tomblaine, having occurred one day earlier.

The local ​prosecutor did not immediately respond to a ​request for comment.