Rescued RAF airman dies

An RAF airman has died after two Tornado jets crashed off the coast of Scotland on Tuesday, and there is "no expectation" of recovering two other missing crew members alive.

The man, who has not been named, was an officer from 15 Reserve Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth. A fourth crew member is in a serious but stable condition. They were airlifted to hospital in a search-and-rescue operation after the planes plunged into the Moray Firth. Yesterday, extremely poor weather conditions on the north-east coast meant that the search for the two crew members still unaccounted for had to be suspended.

Group Captain Ian Gale, the station commander at the RAF base, said: "We must be realistic: given the length of time that has elapsed since the accident, there is no expectation of recovering missing personnel alive."

The incident will be subject to a full investigation, he said.