Five killed in small plane crash in France

6 Jan 2013, 9:41 am   -   Source: AAP

A private plane thought to be heading to Morocco has crashed in southeastern France, killing five members of a family.

A Moroccan couple and their three children have died when their private plane crashed a few moments after taking off from the Grenoble airport in southeastern France, local police say.

There were five people aboard the plane and "five people died," a police spokesperson said, adding that one of the parents was piloting the aircraft.

The family was from Casablanca, had spent the holidays at the Meribel ski resort and were heading back to Morocco with a stop scheduled in Spain, police said.

Police did not provide the ages of the parents or the children, two boys and one girl.

French authorities informed the Moroccan embassy in Paris that five Moroccan nationals had died in the crash, spokeswoman Rachida Jaadi said.

The plane crashed in the village of Saint Pierre de Bessieux, a few moments after taking off from the Grenoble airport nearby.

A village resident alerted authorities after seeing the plane crash into a hill.

When rescue services arrived, the aircraft was on fire and all onboard were dead.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

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