All 4 Navy officers aboard patrol aircraft killed after crash in Pohang: Navy

All four Navy officers aboard a maritime patrol aircraft were killed after the plane crashed on a mountain in the southeastern city of Pohang on Thursday, the Navy said.

The crash occurred at around 1:49 p.m., and witnesses reported smoke rising from the mountain with sounds of explosions.

“A P-3 maritime patrol aircraft that took off at 1:43 p.m. for landing and takeoff training from an air base in Pohang crashed at a nearby location at around 1:49 p.m., due to an unspecified reason,” the Navy said.

Four people were on board — two commissioned officers and two non-commissioned officers.

The Navy said it recovered the dead bodies of all four officers. The officers’ identities have yet to be confirmed.

The aircraft was usually based at a Navy unit on the southern island of Jeju, but had flown to Pohang for training, a Navy official said.

The Navy said it has launched an investigative unit to look into further details and grounded the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.

No civilian casualties were reported.

Acting President Lee Ju-ho was briefed on the crash by acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho and called for all-out efforts to rescue the passengers and prevent further damage to the surrounding environment, his office said.

The Navy operates 16 P-3 aircraft, dubbed the “submarine killer” for its anti-submarine capabilities. The first eight of the 16 aircraft, labeled the P-3C, were deployed in 1995 and another eight, renovated by the defense firm Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. and named the P-3CK, were subsequently deployed.

The aircraft that crashed Thursday is one of the eight P-3CK aircraft in operation in Pohang and Jeju.

The recent accident marks the first known crash involving a P-3 aircraft deployed by the armed service.