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South Korea: Two air force planes collide mid-air killing four pilots

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Apr 01, 2022, 08:36 PM IST
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Actual image of the mid-air collision. Photograph:(Reuters)

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The air force said that the crash took place at 0437 GMT about 6 kilometers south of KT-1  airplane base in the southeastern city of Sacheon

A collision between two South Korean air force planes on Friday (April 1) resulted in death of four pilots, said authorities. The collision took place during a training exercise. 

The air force said that the crash took place at 0437 GMT about 6 kilometers south of KT-1  airplane base in the southeastern city of Sacheon

"Despite their attempts at an emergency escape ... all of the two student pilots and two flight instructors aboard the two planes died," it said in a statement.

A total of 130 troops, 95 police officers and 60 firefighters as well as three helicopters have begun a search at the crash site, Yonhap news agency said, citing local government officials.

The air force said there were no civilian casualties but had formed a team to determine the cause of the accident and damage, including on the resident community.

The crash is one of several incidents involving South Korean air force jets this year.

In January, a pilot was killed in an F-5 fighter jet crash.

That accident took place shortly after the country grounded its entire fleet of advanced F-35 fighter jets following a major systems malfunction on one plane that forced a dramatic emergency landing.

The Korean peninsula remains in a technical state of war, as the armistice that ended the conflict in 1953 has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty.

(With inputs from agencies)