TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A plane carrying parachutists crashed near Fernelmont city, Begium on Saturday, October 19, 2013. The passengers were pilots, parachutists, and instructors. Eleven of them were reportedly killed.
"There are eleven passengers. They are planning to celebrate a birthday with a skydive," said Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo to Houston Chronicle on Friday.
Minutes after the aircraft took off, witnesses saw part of a wing break off, sending the plane into a spiraling nosedive and crash in a field close to Fernelmont town, said its mayor, Jean-Claude Nihoul. The skydivers and their instructors "were not able to jump out," Nihoul added.
Everyone aboard was killed instantly, Nihoul said, adding that three parachutes were found near the crash site. "Some were trying to get out but could not," he said.
The victims were almost all between the ages of 20 and 40. The 11 victims were not immediately identified by name, and the cause of the accident is still being investigated.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE | ANINGTIAS JATMIKA
