DHAKA (PTI): Two Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) pilots were killed when a China-made training aircraft crashed into a lake soon after it took off from an airbase in southwestern Bangladesh.

The K-8W training aircraft crashed on Sunday evening into an oxbow lake near the BAF Base Matiur Rahman in Jashore district while it was on a night training mission, a defence ministry spokesman said.

Locals heard two loud bangs and saw a plane plunging into the water and oil floating up.

Two pilots, Squadron Leader Md Serajul Islam and Squadron Leader Enayet Kabir Polash, were killed in the crash, the spokesman said.

The cause of the plane crash is yet to be confirmed. A high-rank probe committee has been formed to investigate into the accident.

The two-seat intermediate jet trainer and light attack aircraft was designed by Chinese Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation.