A small propeller airplane crashed into a group of people at an air show near the eastern German town of Eisenach on Saturday, killing a 45-year-old woman and injuring 10 others, police said.

"A small airplane taking off came off the runway and rolled into a group of people," a police spokeswoman said. The accident happened at the Kindel air field near Eisenach, south of Berlin. She said three people were seriously injured and seven others, including two children aged nine and 14, suffered less serious injuries. The spokeswoman said it was not known what caused the crash.

German television network ZDF reported the plane had come to a halt in a children's carousel near the end of the runway. It said the pilot was injured in the crash and had been pinned in the cockpit.

The network said the bright yellow plane was formerly used for crop dusting.

German media said it was a Z-37, a Czech-made single seat plane.