Horrifying moment Italian airforce display jet plunges from the sky and crashes into a car killing five-year-old girl following bird strike

• MB339 fighter can be seen falling from the sky before crashing to the ground

An Italian airforce display jet has crashed following a bird strike with the wreckage slamming into a car and killing a five-year-old girl.

Dramatic footage of the MB339 fighter plunging from the sky was caught by passers-by who had gathered to watch the Frecce Tricolore display near Turin.

The unit is the equivalent of the British Red Arrows and accident investigators are working on the theory the plane had a bird strike which caused it to lose height.

In the video clip the plane is seen in formation with other jets but then loses height rapidly as the others peel away as part of the display.

Cars can be seen along a perimeter road and then the dramatic moment the pilot ejects is captured before the plane plunges into the ground and explodes in a fireball.

Dramatic footage shows the MB339 fighter plunging from the sky before crashing into a car and killing a five-year-old girl

Horrified onlookers watched the crash at the Frecce Tricolore display near Turin

The pilot escaped without injury and was taken to the nearby Giovanni Bosch hospital in Turin but paramedics were unable to save the girl.

Officials said her brother was also seriously hurt in the tragedy and her parents escaped unscathed but were treated for shock.

The display was part of a centenary celebration for the Italian airforce and all the other planes involved landed safely with the display being immediately cancelled.

Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said on X: ‘Terrible accident in Turin, where a Frecce Tricolori plane crashed during an exercise, killing a five-year-old girl and, according to initial reports, injuring her little brother and parents.

‘Except for the pilot, who jumped out with his parachute at the last moment.

A frightening tragedy. A prayer and a hug of closeness.’

Italian Defence Minister Guido Guido Crosetto, expressed his ‘deepest condolences’ for the tragedy.

The unit is the equivalent of the British Red Arrows and accident investigators are working on the theory the plane had a bird strike which caused it to lose height

He added: ‘The news has shocked and we are deeply saddened by the tragic accident involving a member of the Frecce Tricolori whose aircraft was dramatically involved in a crash with a vehicle with a family on board.

‘The Ministry expresses its closeness to the family members, aware that there are unbridgeable losses and that it would never want to receive such news.

‘In maintaining a respectful and due silence the Ministry of Defence will make available every resource and capacity for the management of the emergency and to support any people involved. Any further details will be released as soon as possible.’

Nearby Turin airport was temporarily closed after the accident to allow the display team to land before reopening later.

Since being formed in 1961 the Frecce have been involved in several accidents with the most serious being in 1988 at an air display in Ramstein in Germany where three planes collided killing the pilots and a further 67 on the ground were hit by the wreckage.

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