The body of a Eurofighter pilot has been found after the plane crashed as he was returning to a base in Italy.
A search had been under way for the aircraft that went down in the Marsala area of Sicily as it was approaching the military airport of Trapani Birgi, on Tuesday night.
But now teams of firefighters have recovered the lifeless body of the pilot who belonged to the Eurofighter 37th Wing, reported the agency ANSA.
The plane was in the Locogrande region which is a few miles north of Marsala where it crashed for unknown reasons.
Specialist firefighters using illuminated balloons were able to find the wreckage of the plane in a riverbed.
The plane was starting its descent into Trapani Birgi when it crashed, according to Ilfattoquotidiano.it.
The news outlet also said that the plane broke up on impact with the ground and there were pieces of wreckage on fire several hundred metres apart at the accident site, around five miles south east of the airbase.
An alarm was first raised at around 6.30pm local time and the search was coordinated by a helicopter.
But with no alert coming from the ejection warning system, that would have sounded if he had successfully removed himself from the plane, hopes faded that he would be alive, it is reported.
The plane is believed to have been a single-seat Typhoon interceptor fighter that was returning from a reconnaissance mission of around an hour with another aircraft that did successfully land at the military airport.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the most advanced combat aircraft developed in Europe that ensures suspicious planes or objects can be intercepted within minutes after being detected by radar. It is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be an effective dogfighter in combat.
The 37th Wing is dedicated to surveillance and the defence of national air space.
The RAF received its first operational squadrons at Coningsby, Lincolnshire in 2004, with a subsequent squadron at Leuchars, Fife in 2008, stated eurofighter.com.
The RAF is the biggest Eurofighter Typhoon customer with the 100th aircraft delivered to No 1 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Leuchars in January 2013. The UK is a key member of the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium.
