US Marine Corps jet crashes in Africa

A United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II jet crashed in Djibouti, in East Africa, on Tuesday, according to two defense officials.

The pilot was able to eject and is currently being medically evaluated the officials added, the extent of the pilot’s injuries are currently unknown.

The United States has a large military presence in Djibouti based at Camp Lemonnier where some 4,000 US personnel are stationed.

In a statement, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said the pilot ejected during takeoff from Djibouti Ambouli International Airport just after 4 p.m. local time.

“No other injuries were reported to personnel on the ground nor damage to infrastructure at the airport,” the statement said.

The jet was flying in support of a training exercise with the U.S. Central Command, officials said. It was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 and embarked abroad the USS Iwo Jima.

There are roughly 4,000 U.S. troops deployed to the East African nation.