The body of the missing pilot of the Russian-made fighter jet that went down during an exercise off north-central Vietnam on Tuesday morning was found by a local fisher on Friday evening.

The remains of Tran Quang Khai, the pilot who went missing after the crash of the Su30-MK2 warplane, were brought ashore in the north-central province of Nghe An at around 5:00 am on Saturday.

When the crash happened, Khai was steering the warplane with his co-pilot, Nguyen Huu Cuong, who was rescued by a local fishing boat on Wednesday morning and safely brought ashore later the same day

Hundreds of people, including Khai’s family members and comrades, along with representatives from many units of the Vietnam People’s Air Force and provincial border guards, leaders of the Nghe An People’s Committee, and local residents, gathered at the port to wait for the late pilot.

According to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper source from the Ministry of National Defense, Khai was found by the fishing boat captained by Dang Thanh Kinh at around 6:30 pm as he was drifting at a location 33 nautical miles from Hon Me Islet off the north-central province of Thanh Hoa.

The pilot was discovered with a parachute wrapping around his body, Kinh told Tuoi Tre on the phone.

The fisher first saw an orange object as he was fishing, Kinh stated, adding that he approached and found a body, assuming it was Khai because he was wearing a helmet and a parachute.

Rescue craft CN09 of the Nghe An Border Guard was immediately dispatched to Kinh’s fishing boat after being notified to retrieve the corpse of the pilot, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Van Xuan, an official from the Nghe An Border Guard.

The unit faced difficulties during their mission due to bad weather conditions, Xuan added.

 Late pilot Tran Quang Khai is pictured in 2013. Photo: Tuoi Tre   

Search for missing CASA-212 victims

Search is still underway for the nine people on board the Vietnamese coast guard aircraft CASA-212 8983, which went down on Thursday while searching for Khai.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has extended his condolences to families of the victims in the two accidents and encouragement for the rescue teams.

The premier requested the Ministry of National Defense and local authorities to exert all efforts to look for the missing crew.

Many units from the air force, navy, border guards, and coast guard, along with fishermen from northern coastal localities have been assigned the mission.

PM Phuc also urged competent authorities to figure out the exact location of the plane crash and salvage it, before an examination is carried out to determine the cause of the accident.

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