The accident took place at around 3.30pm today, after an army fighter jet lost a replica bomb while it was flying over a car factory called Faurecia in Loiretaine, Nogent-sur-Vernisson.

A spokesman for the air force said that the bomb was used in practice sessions but fell onto the roof, causing injuries.

It is not yet known what condition the injured people are in.

The accident sparked panic among the French police and firefighters who feared that it would explode - despite it being a replica.</s>The accident took place at around 3.30pm today, after an army fighter jet lost a replica bomb while it was flying over a car factory called Faurecia in Loiretaine, Nogent-sur-Vernisson. A spokesman for the air force said that the bomb was used in practice sessions but fell onto the roof, causing injuries. It is not yet known what condition the injured people are in. The accident sparked panic among the French police and firefighters who feared that it would explode - despite it being a replica.

Around 20 police officers and 40 firefighters rushed to the scene. The French police - Gendarmes - asked the company officials to evacuate the premises. At least 150 employees were taken away from the scene in a bid to keep them safe. The fighter jet was supposed to drop the bomb on a training ground located in Suippes, near Reims, France Bleu reports. The air force has issued a formal apology to the people who were hurt. An investigation has been launched by BEAD-air - the French office for accident investigations.

Anthonin Bourgerette, a warehouse worker who works opposite the Faurecia plant told France Bleu: “Two fighter jets of the army have passed, we heard a big boom. “The detonation was relatively strong, it surpassed the noise of the two planes passing by, firefighters and gendarmes came in. “Initially, the gendarmes asked us to close the site, before telling us that it was was not worth it, that there was nothing urgent. " Colonel Olivier Celo, a spokesman for the Air Force told France Bleu: “Inert munition simulates weapons that we use in real conditions. "They have the aerodynamic characteristics of what are called bombs, but they are not, they are exercises, there are no explosives in them. Of course, "this element was absolutely not intended to be dropped at the place in question (Nogent-sur-Vernisson, Ed) but on the field of fire Suippes, the side of Reims" . The Colonel added that this type of accident is "exceptional, very very rare".</s>A military plane mistakenly dropped a replica bomb onto the building of the Faurecia automobile parts factory in Nogent-sur-Vernisson in France due to inaccurate geolocation, local media reported.

The incident occurred on April 10, in the afternoon, when a French Air Force fighter jet Dassault Mirage 2000D was taking part in a regular practice session.

Although the replica bomb did not have a detonator, it still inflicted serious damage to the building and prompted the evacuation of some 150 workers and injured two of them.

Some 20 police officers and 40 firefighters were called to the scene. The victims were taken to the nearest hospital.

The French Air Force took responsibility for the incident and apologized for the mistake of their pilot.

The military prosecutor's office promised to analyze the causes of what had happened to avoid similar incidents in the future. It also pledged to punish those responsible for the mistake.
A French military jet accidentally drops an inert bomb on a car factory in Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France. Two are injured and gendarmes evacuate 150.