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At least 10 people have been killed after a small tourist plane crashed near the city of Namur in south-east Belgium. It was carrying a group of skydivers and crashed shortly after take-off, killing all those on board, the local mayor has told the AFP news agency. The plane is thought to have taken off from the Temploux aerodrome and crashed around 10 minutes later in a field. Its wing appeared to have suffered some damage, Belgian media report. The small plane came down near the village of Marchovelette, 10km (six miles) from Namur. The passengers did not have time to jump out, the mayor of the nearby town of Fernelmont told AFP. Pictures show black smoke billowing from a burnt-out fuselage. "I just saw a plane lose its right wing in mid-flight and crash. I heard a massive 'bang' towards the south of Marchovelette," one witness told Belgian television. "I didn't see anyone escape with a parachute," the witness added.

A transsexual has been helped to die by doctors in Belgium, after a series of failed sex-change operations. Nathan Verhelst, born a woman, asked for help to end his life on grounds of psychological suffering. He died in a Brussels hospital on Monday. Two doctors concluded he did not have temporary depression. His case received scant media coverage. Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002. There were 52 cases of euthanasia on psychological grounds last year. 'Rigorous procedure' "He died in all serenity," doctor Wim Distlemans told the Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws. Nathan Verhelst, 44, was born Nancy into a family of three boys. The newspaper, which said it had spoken to him on the eve of his death, reported that he had been rejected by his parents who had wanted another son. He had three operations to change sex between 2009 and 2012. "The first time I saw myself in the mirror I felt an aversion for my new body," he was quoted as saying. The h...