HANOI - Two Vietnamese air force pilots are missing after parachuting from a Russian-made Yak-130 light combat training aircraft that crashed on Wednesday morning in the central province of Binh Dinh, Vietnam's defence ministry said in a statement.

       The accident happened when the pilots were trying to land in difficult weather conditions, the ministry said."The landing gear could not be released and emergency measures taken by the pilots were not successful," the ministry said, adding the pilots were able to parachute from the plane.The air force is coordinating search-and-rescue activities on both air and on the ground, it said.

       Last year, a pilot was killed during training while trying to land a Russian-made Su-22 jet at a local airport.

       Vietnam relies heavily on Russia for its military products, and it is seeking to diversify its equipment and arms suppliers. REUTERS