A US F-16 fighter jet has crashed in a Bavarian forest in southern Germany, but the pilot managed to eject and suffered only minor injuries.

Authorities have sealed off the crash site near Engelmannsreuth in northern Bavaria and firefighters have been trying to extinguish flames in the jet wreckage.

The reason for the crash remains unclear.

“The pilot managed to eject with his parachute,” a local police spokesman told AFP. “He suffered minor injuries and required medical attention. The crash site is in an area that is difficult to reach. Emergency services and the fire brigade are trying to get to it to put out the fire.”

Local news website nordbayern.de quoted a police official in nearby Pegnitz as saying the jet had taken off from the Grafenwöhr military training ground and crashed during a manoeuvre.

