Italian Eurofighter warplane crashes off Sicily

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - An Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet crashed off the coast of Sicily, local media reported late Tuesday.

Contact was lost with the aircraft from the 37th Wing based at Trapani Birgi Military Airport while it was beginning to approach the runway to land after a training mission, said the state-run ANSA news agency.

The warplane crashed about five miles southeast of the air base at the mouth of the Birgi River near the tourist center of Rocche Draele, disintegrating on impact with flaming wreckage found several hundred feet apart, it added.

It noted that there is a chance that the pilot may have ejected before the crash and could be alive.

The local fire department and search and rescue helicopters from the air force are continuing their efforts to locate the missing pilot.