Missiles fall off British Tornado plane during landing at air base

Two missiles became detached from a British Tornado plane and fell on the ground while the plane was landing at an airbase on the south coast of Cyprus, but did not explode, a British spokesman said on Wednesday.

The spokesman at Britain's Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus said the circumstances under which the rockets became detached were being investigated.

"Two Brimstone air-to-surface missiles became detached from a Tornado fighter and fell on the tarmac," the spokesman said.

The scene was cordoned off as specialists tried to recover the rockets.

Britain retained an air base at Akrotiri near the port city of Limassol when it granted independence to Cyprus in 1960.

The base, next to the city's commercial port, provides air support to NATO operations in the Middle East and near-East regions.

It is also used as an electronic surveillance site which is connected to other NATO surveillance hubs all over the world. Endit