LIMA (Reuters) -The Peruvian Air Force said on Thursday that it lost communication with a Mirage 2000 fighter plane that was conducting low-altitude training in southern Peru and has ordered investigations to determine "the causes of the accident."

       The jet lost communication with the La Joya Air Base, located in the Arequipa region, at 10:31 a.m. local time (15:31 GMT) and a search and rescue team was immediately activated by "aerial means and ground patrols," an Air Force statement said.

       The institution did not offer further details on the incident.

       Peru acquired a batch of Mirage 2000 fighter jet at the beginning of the first government of the now deceased former President Alan Garcia, who governed from 1985 and 1990 and again between 2006 and 2011.

       (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sarah Morland)