Search Begins After French Fighter Jet Vanishes From Radar

A French Air Force Mirage 2000D, similar to the jet that has gone missing, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in 2010 (Picture: MOD).

A French fighter jet carrying two crew has disappeared from radar screens near the French-Swiss border.

A spokeswoman for the French Air Force said the Mirage 2000D was last detected in a snow-covered mountainous area between the Doubs and Jura regions.

She said a search is underway for signs of the plane.

The jet took off shortly after 11am local time from the Nancy-Ochey airbase in north-east France.

The pilots had been on a low-altitude training flight.

Mountain rescuers, firefighters, police, military units and local residents joined the search effort, according to the regional administrations of Doubs and Jura.

Visibility was extremely low, with heavy fog and snow.