US says diplomats to see spy plane crew soon

China has agreed to let American diplomats see the 24 crew members of a US Navy spy plane, says the US ambassador.

Joseph Prueher says the meeting could take place as early as this evening.

The unarmed EP-3 surveillance plane made an emergency landing at a Chinese naval air base on Hainan island after an in-flight collision with a Chinese fighter jet.

China says the fighter pilot parachuted out and is missing.

Mr Prueher didn't say whether China had made a formal commitment to the meeting, but he complained about the length of time that had passed without contact.

China says a massive search by planes and ships had turned up no sign of its missing pilot.

The collision occurred over the South China Sea about 60 miles south-east of Hainan.

The US military says the plane was on a routine surveillance mission in international air space. After its left wing and one of its four engines were damaged, the pilot put out a distress call and landed at the nearest airfield on Hainan.

US officials say China did not respond to an offer to help search for its missing pilot.

Yesterday, a sailor at a facility adjacent to the Lingshui base said the plane was standing empty on the runway and the crew had been taken to a military guesthouse.

China says the American pilot caused the crash by suddenly veering into the Chinese jet, one of two sent up to follow the plane.

US military authorities say it was more likely that the faster, lighter Chinese plane brushed against the lumbering propeller-driven EP-3, which is about the size of a 150-seater commercial jetliner.