1st LD Writethru: Death toll rises to 11 following F-16 crash in Spain

A member of the French military who was injured in the crash of a Greek F-16 fighter in the military base of Los Llanos in central Spain on Monday, died on Tuesday, confirmed the Spanish Ministry of Defense.

The death takes the number of people killed in the accident to 11, while a further 21 were injured. Five of those, four French military personnel and an Italian, are in serious condition with burns and are being treated in the Madrid hospitals of La Paz and 12 October.

Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes commented that the remaining injured are "better," although it has been reported that one person needed to have their forearm amputated, while another lost their fingers.

Speaking on Spanish radio station Onda Cero, Morenes explained that an investigation into the causes of the crash, which happened during a NATO exercise, is taking place, although he explained it was "too early to draw conclusions."

"What we do have is the visual evidence: The Greek plane took off, it angled towards the runway, we don't know why, towards the parking zone and it hit the ground a few meters from where the aircraft where taxing ready for take-off. Then there was the bad luck that the fragments went flying like missiles towards the people in the area," said Morenes.

The minister insisted the investigation was likely to take some time as it was "especially complex," and said Spain would collaborate with all of the countries involved to find the answer. Endit