Two British military pilots injured after ejecting from training jet before crash in north Wales

Two Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots suffered what are believed to be minor injuries after ejecting from a Hawk T2 training jet moments before it crashed near residential properties in north Wales on Wednesday.

The aircraft had taken off from RAF Valley, a British military airbase on Anglesey, an island off the north-west coast of Wales that is used to train military pilots. It crashed near the village of Pencarnisiog.

Footage shared on social media appears to show the two pilots ejecting from the aircraft before it plunged to the ground and burst into flames.

A large plume of smoke and fire was seen rising from the crash site. The aircraft appeared to narrowly miss nearby homes.

North Wales Police said the pilots were receiving treatment for injuries believed to be minor.

"Two pilots are being treated for what are thought to be minor injuries and at this stage there are no reports of any wider damage or injuries," the force said.

RAF suspends Hawk operations

The RAF has temporarily suspended training flights involving its Hawk aircraft as a precaution while investigations into the crash are under way.

The British air force confirmed the investigation followed an "incident involving an RAF Hawk T2 aircraft, flying out of RAF Valley".

The suspension also affects the Red Arrows, the RAF's aerobatic display team, because the team operates the older Hawk T1 version of the aircraft, the BBC reported.

The Red Arrows, which are based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, were not due to perform again until the Le Touquet Airshow in France this weekend. It was not known when the restriction on Hawk operations would be lifted.

The Hawk T1 and newer Hawk T2 are two-seat, transonic training aircraft used by the RAF to train pilots who will go on to fly fast jets.

Wreckage found near caravan site

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the fire at the crash site was under control. Ambulance and air ambulance crews also attended.

The BBC reported that eyewitnesses saw the aircraft come down close to village homes, with debris reaching a nearby caravan site.

Richard Owen, owner of Afallon Caravan Park, told the Daily Mail that the aircraft's tail section "must have blown off" before landing next to one of his caravans.

Owen said he was in his kitchen when he heard an initial bang but did not think much of it because the site is located on the aircraft's flightpath.

"But then I heard a second bang and I saw the fire and flames," he said.

"It landed just on the other side of the park. I went out to take a look."

"There were little bits of wreckage all around the site."

Pilots taken for treatment

Two air ambulances that attended the crash later landed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, which houses the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, a specialist medical facility for members of the British armed forces.

The cause and circumstances of the crash have not been disclosed. The RAF investigation is continuing.