Two trainee pilots lost their lives after a Sri Lankan aircraft crashed on Monday in the eastern city of Trincomalee, according to a spokesperson of the country's air force.
Group Captain Dushan Wijesinghe said that the Chinese-built PT-6 plane crashed during a training session after it took off from an air force academy in the China Bay base in Trincomalee. The bodies of the deceased pilots has been recovered.
Air force commander Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa has appointed a special investigation committee to probe the incident, said Wijesinghe.
The PT-6 planes are used mainly to train new pilots in Sri Lanka and the air force operates the China Bay in the port city of Trincomalee, China Bay base, a former British air base that came under attack during the Second World War.
(With AP inputs)
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