South Korea: All four Navy officers aboard patrol aircraft killed after crash in Pohang (Ld)

Seoul/Pohang, May 29 (IANS) All four Navy officers aboard a maritime patrol aircraft were killed after the plane crashed on a mountain in South Korea's southeastern city of Pohang on Thursday, the Navy said.

The crash occurred at 1.49 p.m., and witnesses reported smoke rising from the mountain with sounds of explosions.

"A P-3 maritime patrol aircraft that took off at 1.43 p.m. for landing and takeoff training from an air base in Pohang crashed at a nearby location at around 1.49 p.m., due to an unspecified reason," the Navy said.

Four people were on board -- two commissioned officers and two non-commissioned officers.

The Navy said it recovered the dead bodies of all four officers. The officers' identities have yet to be confirmed.

The aircraft was usually based at a Navy unit on the southern island of Jeju, but had flown to Pohang for training, a Navy official said.

The Navy said it has launched an investigative unit to look into further details and grounded the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.

No civilian casualties were reported, Yonhap news agency reported.

Acting President Lee Ju-ho was briefed on the crash by acting Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho and called for all-out efforts to rescue the passengers and prevent further damage to the surrounding environment, his office said.

The Navy operates 16 P-3 aircraft, dubbed the "submarine killer" for its anti-submarine capabilities. The first eight of the 16 aircraft, labelled the P-3C, were deployed in 1995, and another eight, renovated by the defence firm Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. and named the P-3CK, were subsequently deployed.

The aircraft that crashed on Thursday is one of the eight P-3CK aircraft in operation in Pohang and Jeju.

The recent accident marks the first known crash involving a P-3 aircraft deployed by the armed service.

South Korea's Transport Ministry is currently investigating the cause of the runway deviation.

--IANS

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