Pilots confirmed dead as missing Philippine fighter jet found wrecked in mountains

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Philippine rescuers have found the wreckage of a missing fighter jet and the bodies of its two pilots in a mountainous region of the country.

The FA-50 fighter jet with two pilots on board lost contact after midnight on Tuesday during a night combat mission against communist insurgents in a southern province. While the jet failed to reach its target area, the other aircraft successfully carried out assaults and returned to an air base in central Cebu province, military officials said.

The wreckage was found in the Kalatungan mountains of Bukidnon province on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines on Wednesday, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt Gen Luis Rex Bergante.

“We’re bringing down the bodies, and the aircraft is currently cordoned off for investigation. It will be studied,” Mr Bergante said, according to several media reports.

In an interview with Manila-based radio station dzBB, the army confirmed that the bodies of the two pilots were found in the Kalatungan Mountains of Bukidnon province. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

The disappearance of the aircraft coincided with airstrikes in the Pantaron mountain range in the region of Northern Mindanao, where government forces clashed with around 70 New People’s Army rebels.

Earlier, an extensive search had been launched to find the two pilots of the jet.

“The aircraft lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area. The other aircraft repeatedly attempted to re-establish contact with the missing aircraft until its return to Mactan, Cebu,” Philippines Air Force spokesperson Colonel Maria Consuelo Castillo said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Philippines has 12 FA-50 jets from South Korea and plans to acquire 12 more. The jets are used for various missions, including anti-insurgency operations and patrols in the South China Sea.

Peace talks with communist rebels (the NPA) have stalled despite past attempts to resume negotiations.