Mid-air collision of South Korean trainer planes kills three

Reuters reported, authorities in South Korea said that two aircraft of the country's air force collided in mid-air on Friday during a training exercise, killing three pilots, with a fourth missing in the rare incident.

The Yonhap news agency said, citing fire officials, more than 30 firefighters and rescuers have begun a search at the crash site.

The air force said, the crash happened about 6 km (3.7 miles) south of the KT-1 airplanes' base in the southeastern city of Sacheon, at about 1:37 p.m.(0437 GMT).

It said in a statement: "Despite their attempts at an emergency escape, three pilots died and one remains missing," adding that it had formed a team to determine the cause of the accident and damage.

Opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol elected as the new president of South Korea

Reuters noted that the KT-1 is a single-engine basic trainer and light attack aircraft jointly built by the state-run Agency for Defense Development and a contractor, Korea Aerospace Industries.

Source: reuters