Two Pakistani trainer planes collide, killing four pilots

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Two Pakistan Air Force light aircraft, on a routine training mission northwest of capital Islamabad, collided in mid-air on Thursday, killing all four pilots -- two trainee pilots and two instructors -- on board, PAF sources said.

"Two PAF Mushshak aircraft, while on a routine training mission, crashed near Rashakai, Risalpur. Four pilots embraced Shahadat (martyrdom). A board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of accident," said a statement from the Pakistan Air Force headquarters. It gave no further details.

The trainer aircraft, which had taken off from the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur at around 1000 am local time , crashed shortly after take-off into a civilian area near Nowshera close to the air base.

Witnesses said that the two aircraft had slammed into each other in mid-air before hurtling downwards.

Residents said the aircraft burst into flames after hitting the roofs of two houses.

According to police, one of the two-seater propeller Mushshak planes crashed on a house, injuring a girl and an elderly man, and the second fell in nearby fields in the Rashkai area, 100 miles northwest of the capital.

Army air force teams later cordoned off the area.