RAF jet crashes

SEVEN RAF crew were feared dead last night after their military plane crashed into a Canadian lake while taking part in an airshow.

Spectators at the Canadian National Exhibition show near Toronto watched the RAF Nimrod reconnaissance plane do a low swooping turn and then suddenly plunge into Lake Ontario.

The Ministry of Defence was last night trying to discover what had happened to the crew of two pilots, a flight engineer, navigator, air electronics officer and two air electronics operators. But Capt Gordon Scratcherd of the Royal Canadian Air Force, at the rescue co-ordination centre, said that two hours after the crash no survivors had been found.

One witness said: "The plane's engines just stopped. It was flying rather low and I thought they couldn't be cutting their engines. It hit the water with a huge splash."

Rescue boats raced to the crash and orange life jackets were seen in the water. Pieces of the plane could be seen from the exhibition grounds.

The Nimrod is largely used for sea rescue and anti-submarine patrols. Seven crew were rescued in May when an RAF Nimrod ditched in the sea at Moray Firth, Scotland, after catching fire.