An Airbus A340-600 carrying out engine tests crashed into an anti-noise barrier at Toulouse airport in southwest France overnight, injuring 10 people. "The nine people on board were all evacuated and we do not know the condition of the injured," an Airbus official said. The plane was "seriously damaged." Two of the passengers and another person on the ground were seriously injured, police said.

In all 10 people were injured and four people were taken to hospital, three of whom were in serious conditions, they said. Eighty firefighters rushed to the scene after the plane slammed nose-first into the barrier and the tail hit the tarmac. "For an unknown reason the aircraft began to roll and it climbed up the embankment in front of it," said Airbus France spokesman Jacques Rocca.

The European aircraft manufacturer said it "deeply regrets" the accident which occurred at during "engine-run-ups."