British military jet crashes in south west England

London: Two pilots are alive and undergoing medical checks after ejecting from a British military jet in south-west England, which later crashed into a field.

The pilots did not sustain life-threatening injuries, said a spokeswoman for Cornwall Air Ambulance, which responded to the reports of a crash at 0948 GMT.

The UK's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that an investigation will start into the incident involving a Royal Navy Hawk aircraft that was based not far from the site of the crash in Helston, on the tip of England's most westerly point.

"Two pilots are being checked by medics after ejecting from a Royal Navy Hawk aircraft," the ministry said in a statement.

Media reports say that the crew ejected before the plane went down in a field.

Hawks are twin-seat fast jet aircraft which are usually used for training purposes.

The Ministry of Defence said it would not be providing any further detail into what had happened at this time, while local police advised members of the public to avoid the area.