BELGRADE: Two Serbian pilots died Friday when their warplane crashed near Belgrade, the defence ministry said.

The cause of the crash, which took place some 50 kilometres (31 miles) southwest of Belgrade, was not immediately known and officials have launched an investigation.

The plane was a Super Galeb G-4 training aircraft, which can be used for military sorties as well as training missions.

It was the sixth military plane to crash in Serbia since 2006 — killing a total of six people including five pilots. In 2015, seven people — four crew members, two medical workers and a baby — were killed when a Serbian military helicopter crashed near Belgrade.

In the worst accident of its kind in the Balkan country in nearly 20 years, the helicopter was evacuating the five-day-old baby for emergency medical treatment.—AFP