A Tornado combat jet crashed on a training mission but both the pilot and co-pilot were able to eject to safety, the German military said today.

The Bundeswehr says the jet crashed Thursday night in western Germany near the city of Koblenz, a few miles from its base.

The military said today that the pilot suffered minor injuries after ejecting and the co-pilot was unharmed, but both were taken to hospital for observation.

The unarmed plane crashed near a major road, and the impact threw so much debris on to it that it had to be closed down for several hours.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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