Pilots killed as two Italian air force planes crash mid-air

The burned remains of one of the two Italian air force U-208 planes which crashed in Guidonia, on the outskirts of Rome, is covered with a white cloth (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Two Italian air force pilots are dead after their planes collided mid-air and crashed to the ground during an exercise, the country’s armed forces said.

The two U-208s crashed near the Guidonia military airport, about 15 miles north-east of Rome.