Naval sapper force found debris from the crashed jets
Debris has been recovered in an area 15km north of Phu Quy Island after the two military aircraft from the Air Division 370, based at Thanh Son Military Airport in Ninh Thuan Province, apparently collided and crashed into the sea on April 16.
Lieutenant-General Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of Vietnamese People’s Army said no trace had been found of the pilots, Lieutenant-Colonel Le Van Nghia and Captain Nguyen Anh Tu.
Rescuers fear the pilots may have been trapped in the cockpits of their aircraft, which have now sunk. Fast currents are hampering the search.
Tuan said there was little chance the pilots will have survived for so long due to rough sea conditions.
“The Ministry of National Defense is continuing to search for the two missing pilots as well as other parts of the fighter jets in order to clarify the cause of the accident,” he said.
