Moscow took all necessary measures to rescue a US warplane pilot who crashed in its exclusive economic zone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

A US F-16 fighter crashed into the Pacific Ocean east of the Kuril Islands on Sunday, according to the Russian Border Guard Service in the Far East region.

"Immediately upon receiving information about the crash, the Russian side undertook necessary measures to organize a rescue operation. An An-72 plane with the Russian Federal Security Service and a border patrolling Antias boat were dispatched to the area of the accident," the ministry said on its website, adding rescue workers thoroughly searched the area and found the US fighter sank at 5-km depth.

The pilot ejected and was rescued by a Japanese vessel and was later handed over to a US vessel near the site.

The accident, which happened some 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Japan's Hokkaido Island, did not create a threat to the environment, the ministry said.

The fighter belonged to the 35th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force and was en route from the Misawa air base in Japan to Alaska, according to the ministry.