Military Jet Clips Town's Power Lines

The crews on a pair of French military jets that flew over the village of Le Castelleton on low-altitude training flights Wednesday afternoon might want to keep training. The Rafale aircraft were so low that one caught power lines, the BBC reports, cutting off electricity to the village. The mayor was driving along when he heard the roar of the first jet. "It went so low that it made a hell of a din. I then looked up and saw the second aircraft," Benoit Gouin said. He thought it must have gone under the power lines.

Just down the road, he found sections of a severed power line hanging. "One of the planes hit the line and cut it," the mayor said. Gouin called emergency services and the utility. The downed lines sparked a fire that was quickly put out. No one was hurt, and power was restored in about three hours. The jets returned to their nearby base, per the BBC. Calling the accident "extremely rare," an air force spokesman said an investigation has begun. (More France stories.)