France, Oct. 21 -- The Mirage 2000D jet went down at around 10.40pm near Nancy during a training flight from Nancy-Ochey Air Base 133.

"For Nancy Air Base, which has already been involved in this type of accident in recent years, this is a terrible shock," said base commander Ludovic Humbert.

"We had a highly experienced navigator and a young pilot who arrived at the base with all the prerequisites and qualifications needed to fly a Mirage," he added.

Humbert said the flight was part of routine night-time training missions, and confirmed that an investigation was under way into the crash.

Yves Seguy, prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, said: "As soon as we received the information, we obviously launched all the rescue operations...