A US-made F-16V fighter jet takes off from the freeway in Changhua county, Taiwan, as a crowd takes photos during the annual Han Kuang drill on May 28, 2019. Photo: AFP

An F-16 fighter jet of the air force on the island of Taiwan crashed on Tuesday, media on the island reported.

Taiwan media UDN reported that the single-seat F-16 fighter jet from the Hualien Air Base took off for a “regular training mission” at around 6 pm, but it apparently lost contact some 10 nautical miles east of Fengbin township of Hualien at 7:29 pm, with the pilot ejected.

Rescue efforts are underway, but bad weather conditions and visibility at night could increase the difficulties, according to UDN.

According to Focus Taiwan, another media outlet on the island, the crashed aircraft is an F-16V (Block 20).

This is not the first time an F-16V of the Taiwan air force has crashed. Back in January 2022, an F-16V crashed in waters off the island's west coast, which killed its sole pilot, Focus Taiwan reported at the time.

Global Times