Two military Patrouille de France Alpha jets, similar to Red Arrows, crash mid-air over Saint-Dizier airbase forcing pilots to 'bail out'

Shocking footage of the crash, which occurred over the Saint-Dizier airbase yesterday (Tuesday 25 March), was posted on X. The user wrote: "Accident involving two Patrouille de France Alpha Jets over the Saint-Dizier airbase in the north east of France. The pilots bailed out. Let's hope that there were no casualties. The emergency services are already on site."

The incident occurred at around 15:40pm near Air Base 113 during a training drill which included seven Alpha Jets. At least three people were involved in the collision, including a pilot who was taken to hospital.

The Patrouille de France is a French Air Force aerobatic team responsible for plane demonstrations – similar to the British Red Arrows. The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, confirmed the crash.

He said in a post: "Emergency services are being mobilized, and coordination is being ensured between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Armed Forces." One clip posted online shows two planes careering towards the ground as pilots appeared to eject from the aircraft. A second video shows the same incident but from further away as red, blue and white flares are seen trailing in the sky.

The crash is thought to have caused damage to a company building after the planes hit the ground. The Calin company in Villiers-en-Lieu was affected by the crash and a fire started. One of the planes crashed into the Calin silos in Saint-Dizier, while the other is thought to have landed in a canal. The city of Saint-Dizier said last week that the French Aerobatic Patrol would be present from Monday, March 24 to Friday, March 28, for training sessions every day between 11am and 12pm and then between 3pm and 4pm, subject to weather conditions.