Five people were killed when two French army helicopters crashed near the southern resort town of Saint-Tropez on Friday.
"The helicopters collided. There were three crew in one and two in the other. All are dead," police in the nearby town of Brignoles said. One body had still to be recovered from the wreckage.
The Var region prefecture said two army aviation service helicopters based at nearby Cannet-des-Maures collided near Carces lake about 50 kilometres north-west of Saint-Tropez.
About 20 troops joined two rescue helicopters and a police chopper at the crash scene, along with local officials.
In a tweet Defence Minister Florence Parly expressed "great sadness" and said she was en route to the crash site.
