A plane narrowly escaped becoming submerged in a lake when it was blown off course when attempting to land and dramatically overshot a runway.
The Boeing 737 cargo plane was carrying three people when it crash landed near Montpellier Airport in stormy conditions.
The three crew escaped the accident early on Saturday, unhurt, local authorities said.
The National News reports that Montpellier Airport announced it was closed “until further notice” following the incident.
Dramatic images of the incident show the huge plane perched on the edge of a lake, with its nose just skimming the water.
Authorities issued a statement on Saturday announcing that: “As a safety measure, Montpellier airport is closed for an indefinite period to cargo and commercial flights”.
This was “pending the intervention of a specialised company to remove the aircraft”, the statement read.
A number of flights were also cancelled following the crash as a precaution.
According to AviationSourceNews, the plane had flown out from Paris Charles De Gaulle airport.
Emergency services remained on scene on Saturday evening, ahead of what was expected to be a tricky removal mission.
This was expected to take place on Sunday.
The Préfet de l’Hérault said that “The location of the wreckage required the total closure of the airport”.
Flights were reportedly either being cancelled or diverted to Marseille.
Meanwhile, a security investigation had been opened into the incident, with investigator attempting to recover the flight recorders, Metro reports.
