Jet fighter crashes into house in Vietnam

An air force jet crashed during training and destroyed a house in central Vietnam early today, but the two pilots parachuted to safety and no casualties were reported, officials said.

The pilots managed to eject from the Russian-made MIG21 before it crashed into the house at about 9.30am in Binh Dinh province, 700 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City, said an officer at provincial military command who identified himself only as Sau.

Nobody was in the house at the time of the crash, local officials said.

The pilots were rescued unharmed, Sau said, adding that the sky was clear at the time of the accident and that technical problems with the ageing fighter may be blamed for the crash.

The jet fighter crashed only minutes after taking off from an air force base that is less than 10 kilometres from the crash site, he said.

Nguyen Van Giac, chairman of the People’s Committee of Nhon Hau village, where the plane went down, said the house was completely destroyed. The three adults and two children who lived there were at work or school at the time, he said.

“Luckily, no one was at the house at the time of the crash,” he said.