US plane accident in Germany

Rescuers and firemen at the scene of the crash

A US army reconnaissance aircraft has crashed near the southern German city of Nuremberg.

Both personnel on board are believed to have been killed, as the plane came down on the approach to Nuremberg airport.

The twin-engine propeller plane crashed into woods near the town of Schwabach, south-west of Nuremberg, at 1355GMT.

The US Defence Department has said the plane was assigned to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade and based in Wiesbaden.

A massive search is under way in the Highlands

The two pilots were on a training flight at the time, and there was no ammunition on board.

The accident happened just hours after two American military jets were reported missing over the central Highlands of Scotland.

The F15s from the US air force base at Lakenheath in England were on a training flight when contact was lost.

Officially the aircraft have been reported as "overdue" but a spokesman at the Royal Air Force rescue co-ordination centre in Kinloss said it was feared they had crashed.

It is believed that the jets may have gone down in the Cairngorms hills.

Lost contact

Contact with the two planes was lost while they were on a low-flying training exercise in the Ben Macdui/Glen More Lodge area of the Cairngorms.

An RAF Nimrod has flown to the area to search for any trace of the missing planes.

It has been joined by a search and rescue helicopter from Lossiemouth.

There has been one report of an explosion being heard in the Glen More Lodge area.