Group Captain Ian Gale, Station Commander RAF Lossiemouth, has made the following statement:

“It is with great regret that I must confirm the loss of two Tornado GR4 aircraft, from this station, in an incident in the Moray Firth today. The circumstances remain uncertain but clearly this is a very serious incident.

“This incident involved four aircrew – all personnel from this station – and the thoughts of everyone here are with the families and friends of those involved. As I’m sure you will understand, this is an evolving situation and, as such, I am not prepared to comment at this time on their condition or speculate on the circumstances surrounding this incident. However, I can confirm that two individuals have been recovered and two remain unaccounted for. Rescue operations are continuing and I would like to record my gratitude for the ongoing efforts of all those involved.

“I am confident that the Tornado aircraft on this station are operated as safely as they possibly can be – however, today’s incident is a stark reminder that the military operations and training we conduct are not without risk. What happened today is under investigation and more details will be released by the Royal Air Force in due course. Until then, I would ask the media to respect that this is a difficult time for the family, friends and colleagues of those involved and for the whole of the RAF Lossiemouth community.”

RAF press release