September 29, 2003 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
An international search and rescue operation was underway yesterday to locate a missing Bahraini jet which disappeared on Saturday night. Its pilot, who has been named by relatives as 38-year-old Abdulaziz Snan Al Dossary, was also still missing yesterday.
Bahraini, American and Australian rescue teams have been involved in patrols to the north of Bahrain, where the F-16 vanished from radar screens.
At around 8pm on Saturday the Royal Bahrain Air Force lost contact when the Viper disappeared from the radar screens. The F-16 is thought to have gone down during a routine training flight over the northern Gulf.
The cause of the accident is still unknown.
