Two Philippine air force aircraft collided during a training exercise and crashed at an air base south of Manila, killing all four pilots aboard, Philippine officials said Saturday.
The SF-260 planes struck each other at low altitude Friday afternoon before crashing inside Fernando Air Base in Lipa, a city in Batangas province south of the capital.
Officials said no one on the ground was injured.
The air force described the incident as an accidental crash but released no further details.
Two Philippine officials familiar with the incident said the aircraft collided in midair.
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They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the crash publicly.
A witness told The Associated Press that one of the two-seat aircraft came down near military personnel barracks within the base.
The air force has grounded its remaining SF-260 aircraft while investigators examine the crash. The planes were acquired from Italy.
The service did not disclose how many SF-260s remain in its fleet.
The deadly collision represents another blow to the financially strained Philippine military.
For years, budget limitations have hindered efforts to modernize the country’s air force, navy and army, even as the military confronts long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies and escalating territorial tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.
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