4 crew members killed in S. Korea's military plane crash: media

SEOUL -- All four crew members were killed in South Korea's military plane crash, local newspaper Chosun Ilbo said Thursday.

The P-3 maritime patrol aircraft with four crew members aboard took off from a military base in the southeastern city of Pohang for training at about 1:43 pm local time (0443 GMT), according to the defense ministry.

The patrol plane crashed into a hill near the base around 1:49 pm local time (0449 GMT) and no civilian casualties had yet to be identified, the ministry noted.

The newspaper said all of the crew members were found as burned bodies.

Three bodies were retrieved from the crashed plane's wreckage, according to Yonhap news agency.

The fire authorities mobilized helicopters, equipment and firefighters to extinguish the fire on the plane.

The crashed aircraft was allegedly burned down, and its shape could not be identified.