Vietnamese search plane missing with 9 people aboard

Hanoi: Vietnamese state media say a search plane carrying nine people has gone missing while attempting to locate a pilot from a crashed fighter jet.

The Thanh Nien newspaper said the maritime patrol aircraft lost contact on Thursday afternoon about 44 nautical miles (81 kilometers) southwest of Bach Long Vi island, off the coast of the northern port city of Haiphong.

It quoted local official Do Duc Hoa as saying that vessels have been sent to the area where the search plane lost contact, but were hampered by strong winds and high waves.

The nine people on board are among 1,500 personnel sent to search for the pilot, whose Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 jet fighter crashed on Tuesday on a training flight. One other pilot from the jet was rescued Wednesday.