HANOI: A military jet fighter crashed in northern Vietnam on Thursday, killing two servicemen on board, a local official said.

"It crashed in a hilly area in Nghia Dan district around lunch time," an official with the district told Reuters. Nghia Dan district is located in Nghe An province, around 300 km (186 miles) south of Hanoi.

The official, who did not want to be named, said no one on the ground was hurt in the crash.

State media reports said the jet fighter, a Russian-built Su-22, was on a training mission.

The accident happened shortly after the aircraft took off from Sao Vang Airport in the nearby Thanh Hoa province, reported the online newspaper VietnamNet.

"It's not clear yet why it crashed," the official said.