Two gliders are believed to have collided in mid-air and narrowly missed a nearby town as they crashed to the ground in Leicestershire this afternoon.
A major incident has been declared as emergency services, including an air ambulance, raced to the scene.
Eyewitnesses report the two gliders smashed into each other in the air above the town of Melton Mowbray.
Reports have suggested the incident is off Leicester Road on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray, with emergency services confirming they received a call just after 3pm.
Speaking anonymously to LeicestershireLive, the eyewitness said: “We have just witnessed two gliders colliding in mid-air above the Melton Mowbray area. My wife was lying on her sunbed and called me to look at four gliders circling in the sky above us.
“All of a sudden there was an almighty bang after 2 gliders had hit each other . They came crashing down to the ground. One very close to Melton.
“It was an horrific sight and has made us both feel sick.”
Another at the scene said: “One spun out and landed in multiple pieces in a field on Leicester Road, according to a construction worker on the site.”
Other reports from locals suggest the gliders crashed close to the Roundhouse Park housing estate in the west of the town.
The spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service added: “We received a mobilisation message at 15:03 to a report of a glider that has crashed.
“We have a pump from Melton Mowbray and Birstall Fire Station in attendance, alongside the police and East Midlands Ambulance Service.”
A spokeswoman for Roundhouse Park said: “We can confirm that an incident took place on our Roundhouse Park site in Melton Mowbray involving a light aircraft.
“We can confirm that all of the site staff are accounted for and there have been no reports of injuries on the ground. We have closed the site while emergency services and the relevant authorities are dealing with the incident.”
A spokesperson for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed it had also deployed “a field team to investigate” the scene.
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