A
Swiss army fighter jet went missing over the Alps yesterday and is
believed to have crashed, the defense ministry said, adding that a
large-scale search and rescue operation had been launched. The F/A-18
C single-seater had been taking part in a training exercise with a
second plane when all radio contact with the pilot was suddenly cut
at 4:05 PM, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
“Since
then, he has been declared missing,” it said. The suspected crash
site is in the area around the Susten Pass in the centre of the
mountainous country, and is very difficult to access, the ministry
said. Two helicopters had initially taken part in the search, but as
night fell and weather conditions worsened they were forced to land.
The
ministry said they would resume their flights as soon as the weather
permitted, and that in the meantime, two ground crews of rescue
workers and mountaineering experts were continuing the search.
“The
military command’s thoughts are with the pilot’s family,” it
said, adding that an investigation had been launched. All flights
from the Meiringen airbase in the central canton of Bern, where the
missing plane had taken off from, had been grounded until noon (1000
GMT) today, it said.
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