Indian Navy deploys warships, divers to find missing pilot

India's navy has intensified a search for any sign of an air force pilot whose jet crashed into the Arabian Sea during a training exercise last week, authorities said Monday.

The Russian-made MiG-29K aircraft hit the water off the coast of western Goa state on Thursday, with one of the two officers on board rescued.

Landing gear and other bits of wreckage from the plane have been found, the Indian Navy said on Twitter, adding that nine warships, underwater diving teams, and 14 other aircraft were assisting with the search.

The accident happened just days after joint military exercises with the United States, Japan, and Australia.

India has been engaged in a campaign to modernise its aging fleet of military aircraft.

Last year India fought air skirmishes against arch-rival Pakistan as tensions soared over violence in Kashmir, a territory fiercely disputed by both countries.