A US Air Force pilot safely ejected before his F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea off South Korea’s coast, US and South Korean military officials have said.

The pilot was recovered by the South Korean coastguard and was “awake and in stable condition,” the US 8th Fighter Wing said in a statement.

The pilot took off from Kunsan Air Base near the southwestern port city of Gunsan on a routine training flight and was forced to eject from the aircraft after experiencing an unspecified in-flight emergency.

The 8th Fighter Wing said the cause of the in-flight emergency is being investigated.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

“We are grateful for the safe recovery of our Airman by our ROK Allies and that the pilot is in good condition,” Colonel Matthew C Gaetke, the 8th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement, referring to the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.

Read more from Sky News:
North Korea may conduct nuclear test next year, South Korea warns
South Korea suspends part of military pact with North Korea

It comes after a US Air Force Osprey aircraft crashed off southern Japan on 29 November during a training mission, killing all eight people on board.

Related posts:

Twitch confirms data breach as million-dollar payouts to games streamers leak online ‘Our family is in shock’: Kim Kardashian West ‘heartbroken’ after Travis Scott concert deaths ‘If it was their child they would be moving mountains’: Uvalde massacre father’s despair at US gun manufacturers ‘An act of hate’: Noose found at Obama Presidential Centre construction site Snoop Dogg reveals he used to write raps on a typewriter US interest rates set by Federal Reserve rise to their highest since 2007 At least three dead as ice storms stir up tornadoes across the US ‘I’m back!’: Donald Trump returns to Facebook after two year ban Before and after pictures show devastating impact of Hawaii wildfires ‘Everybody’s dead’: US war veteran says Hawaii wildfires are worse than Afghanistan ‘It’s very unfair’: Trump giving evidence at his civil trial in New York The world’s most powerful woman named