South Korean navy patrol plane crashes in Pohang; explosion reported, rescue underway

A South Korean navy patrol aircraft carrying four crew members crashed during a training flight on Thursday, reported AP.The P-3C patrol plane took off from its base in the southeastern city of Pohang at 1:43 p.m.,

but went down shortly after for reasons that remain unclear, the navy said in a statement.

Officials are working to confirm the condition of the people aboard and to determine the cause of the crash.The navy confirmed that there have been no civilian casualties reported on the ground. Pohang’s Nambu Police Station, however, could not yet verify whether there were any injuries or fatalities among the crew.Rescue workers and fire trucks were dispatched to the crash site after residents reported seeing an unidentified object falling from the sky followed by an explosion. Yonhap News Agency also released photos showing firefighters and at least one water truck at the scene, with flames visible and thick black-gray smoke rising through the surrounding trees.The incident comes months after one of South Korea’s deadliest aviation accidents. In December, a Jeju Air passenger jet crashed at Muan International Airport in the south of the country, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.