2 Korean fighter jets lost in southern mountains

Two South Korean fighter jets on a training mission disappeared yesterday over the mountainous south of the country. By nightfall, the aircraft, which are presumed to have crashed, had not been located. The search was scheduled to resume today at dawn.
The F-5E jets, belonging to the 8th Flight Wing, disappeared at about 2 p.m. over the Deogyu and Jiri mountains, in North and South Jeolla provinces in the southwest.
Reconnaissance aircraft were quickly sent to the area, but gave up their search at about 7 p.m., after finding no trace of the planes.
A 30-year-old captain, surnamed Lee, and a 27-year-old lieutenant, surnamed Kim, were listed as the missing pilots.
Air Force officials said they believed the fighter jets may have crashed due to low visibility in the mountains. They said there was heavy fog in the area at the time. Rain today would make search efforts more difficult, they said.
There were no civilian reports of any crash, Air Force officials said, leading to speculation the jets may be lost deep in the mountains.
The U.S.-built Northrop F-5E can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.63 and was provided as aide to the South Korean Air Force in the late 1970s.

by Kim Ji-soo