Turkish PM says no accurate information whether F-4 fighter shot down by Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he has no accurate information about whether the F-4 Turkish military aircraft was shot down by Syria, according to CNN Turk.

Earlier, some media reported that the plane was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft systems.

"I'm not saying that the plane was shot down (by Syria). We do not have accurate information," Erdogan said at a press conference at Ankara airport, RIA Novosti reported.

The prime minister said he has also no information that the Syrian side has already apologized for the incident.

Erdogan noted that more detailed information about the incident will be distributed by the General Staff.

Earlier, the Turkish General Staff said that the F-4 fighter taking off from an Erhach airbase in the province of Malatya in the south-eastern Turkey, disappeared from radar screens at about noon local time in the Mediterranean Sea to the south-east of the province of Hatay bordering on Syria. Local media reported that both pilots have been found alive eight miles off the coast of Syria, their health is satisfactory.

The Turkish prime minister also denied that the pilots were found alive. Their search, according to Erdogan, is carried out jointly with the Syrian side.

"I do not have information on pilots," the Prime Minister of Turkey said .