A Turkish Air Force F4 fighter plane carrying two pilots disappeared close to the Syrian coast, dpa quoted Turkey's state news agency Anatolian as reported Friday. The plane took off from a military airfield at Malatya in the south-east at 10:30 am (0730 GMT) and lost radar and radio contact with its base when it was over the Mediterranean Sea west of the Syrian coast. Anatolian referred to the plane as being "on duty," but gave no details of the operation it was undertaking at the time of its disappearance. The report quoted the military high command as stating that search-and-rescue operations were underway. Turkey's Zaman newspaper reported that the plane was only 12 kilometres from the Syrian coast when it disappeared.
