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Two French pilots, Captain Sébastien Mabire (36) and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens (29), died on Wednesday after their Rafale jets collided in mid-air in eastern France, President Emmanuel Macron said, in a rare accident involving the cutting-edge military aircraft.
The pilot of the first plane ejected and suffered only minor injuries., but authorities had launched a desperate search for a missing instructor and a student pilot on the second jet.
With no news from the crew, significant resources were deployed to the scene to locate them, according to authorities. After a search of several hours, authorities found the bodies of the first two pilots in a forest.
The wreckage of the other two-seater Rafale was found later in the afternoon in the town of Harmonville (Vosges).
Military and judicial investigations are underway into the causes of the accident.
