Italian Frecce Tricolore jet crashes during exercise, killing 5-year-old girl
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TURIN, (Reuters) – An Italian military jet crashed during an exercise in Turin, hitting a car in which an entire family was travelling and killing a five-year-old girl, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said.
The jet was part of the Frecce Tricolore, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force.
Terribile incidente a Torino, dove un aereo delle Frecce Tricolori è precipitato durante una esercitazione, uccidendo una bimba di 5 anni e, secondo le prime notizie, ferendo il suo fratellino e i suoi genitori. Salvo il pilota, che si è lanciato all'ultimo con il paracadute.… pic.twitter.com/AlW6TWqxTo
Italian news agency AGI reported that the victim’s nine-year-old brother was seriously injured, while the two parents and the jet’s pilot were not in life-threatening danger.
“The ministry expresses its condolences to the family members,” Crosetto said in a statement, adding he “had made available every facility and skill for the handling of the emergency and in support of any people involved”.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the pilot got out of the jet by jumping with a parachute. “A terrible tragedy. A prayer and a hug of heartfelt condolences,” he said.
The Frecce Tricolori reached Piedmont’ capital to take part in a display on 17 September to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian Air Force. The event has been cancelled.
Rescuers remove the wreckage of a car at the site of a plane crash near the airport of Caselle, Turin, northern Italy. A plane of the Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, crashed in the area of Turin’s Caselle airport. EPA-EFE/TINO ROMANO
