A Spanish military air display plane has plunged into the sea near a popular tourist beach this morning.
Heart-stopping footage recorded at La Manga shows the Spanish Air Force C-101 plane nose diving around 9.40am before smashing into the water as people swam in the sea nearby.
The plane is from the General Air Academy and is thought belong to the Spanish Air Force Base in nearby San Javier.
The Spanish Ministry of Defence says the body of the pilot, Commander Francisco Marin Núñez, has been recovered from the sea.
Early indications suggest he did eject but did not survive the impact.
There were no other crew on board the aircraft, antena3 reported.
The Mayor of San Javier, José Miguel Luengo said that the plane plummeted into the sea in the La Manga Souk area.
Emergency operators received more than 100 calls from witnesses.
The plane was conducting a training flight when it crashed.
A full investigation into how the plane crashed is underway.
Sources say that the aircraft crashed into the sea just 4km off La Manga, The Leader reported.
San Javier City Council and the local Air Force Academy say they are aware of the crash.
