US military fighter jet crashes near San Diego

A US fighter jet has crashed near a military base in California, the Marine Corps has confirmed.

The F/A-18 Hornet jet crashed just before midnight local time near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Thursday, about 15 miles (24km) from San Diego.

The condition of the pilot was not immediately known. Search and rescue operations are currently underway.

The Marine Corps has launched an investigation into the incident.

In a statement on Friday morning, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar said that the crash site is located on government property just east of the base.

There are no indications of damage to property on the ground, the base's statement added.

Personnel and a helicopter from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department are assisting in the search, according to NBC News.

The 3rd Marine Corps Aircraft Wing is stationed at MCAS Miramar. While the aircraft involved in the crash is not attached to that unit, it was operating out of the base.

"We will provide more information as it becomes available," MCAS Miramar said in the statement.

F/A-18 Hornet jets - used both by the Marine Corps and the US Navy - are all-weather fighter and attack aircraft.

The first variants of the aircraft entered service with the Marines in 1983, and with the Navy the following year.

In 2012, a Navy F/A-18 crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia, injuring seven people.

Four years earlier, in 2008, an F/A-18 operating from Miramar crashed into a residential area in San Diego, killing four people on the ground. The pilot ejected and survived the incident.