One person was killed and one other was missing after a French military plane crashed in the north-east of France on Tuesday evening, France's Ministry of the Armed Forces said on Wednesday, Reuters reported from Paris. The aircraft was a French Air Force Mirage 2000D, a two-seat ground-attack jet, and it crashed in the Meurthe-et-Moselle region with two people on board, the ministry said. The cause of the crash was under investigation, it added.

The jet lost contact on Tuesday evening during a night training flight returning to the Nancy-Ochey air base, Franceinfo reported, in coverage cited by Sweden Herald. Witnesses reportedly heard a loud explosion and saw a fireball at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Search teams located debris early on Wednesday, and the body of one crew member was recovered at the site, according to local reporting from the area between Rogéville, Domèvre-en-Haye and Tremblecourt, near Pont-à-Mousson.

A large search-and-rescue operation involving firefighters, gendarmes, base personnel, a helicopter and drones continued on Wednesday for the second crew member, local reports said. A command post was set up in Rogéville and officials were due to hold a press briefing there on Wednesday morning. The ministry has not named the crew members, and no casualties on the ground were reported in the initial statements.

The Mirage 2000D is a long-serving French strike aircraft based at Nancy-Ochey. A military inquiry has been opened to establish what caused the accident, officials said. Sources: Reuters; Franceinfo via Sweden Herald; AirLive.