US diplomats to meet again with crew of spy plane

US diplomats are to meet again with the crew of a spy plane marooned on a Chinese island.

The meeting with the 24 crew members will be held today, officials at the US Embassy in Beijing told reporters.

American officials have been seeking full access to the crew, who were taken into custody after making an emergency landing on Hainan island, in the South China Sea, following a collision with a Chinese jet on Sunday.

In their only meeting with the crew, on Tuesday in Haikou, Hainan's capital, diplomats said the Americans appeared to be in good health and high spirits.

China has blamed the US plane for the collision and has questioned the crew. It is demanding a formal apology for the incident.

The United States has declined to apologise, although President George W Bush and other top officials have expressed regret over the collision and the loss of the fighter and pilot.

Mr Bush has demanded that China release the crew or risk damaging US-Chinese relations.

The meeting follows several days of high-level efforts to defuse the crisis.