Two Sri Lankan Air Force fighter jets crash mid-air

Two fighter jets of the Sri Lankan Air Force collided and crashed mid air while rehearsing for an air show today.

The two Israeli built Kfir aircraft were practising for the air show to be displayed on 60th anniversary celebrations of Sri Lankan Air Force tomorrow when they crashed near Warana area in the Western province's Gampaha district, officials said.

Casualties from the accident were not immediately known, they said.

According to witnesses, burning debris from one plane was strewn across a nearby open patch of land, while the second jet crashed a few kilometers away.

Kfir jets were widely used by the air force during Sri Lanka's war with the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were fighting for an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils.