AP: Turkey Says One of Its Warplanes Is Missing Near Syria

As reported on Fox News Channel, Syrian vessels joined a search for a missing Turkish military jet which apparently went down Friday in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey's state-run television said.

Below is the full report out from the Associated Press:

The F-4 jet disappeared in an area over the sea, southwest of the Turkish province of Hatay, which borders Syria, Gov. Ulvi Saran of the southern province of Malatya told the state-run Anadolu Agency. The plane took off from a military airbase in Malatya, he said.

Turkey's state-run TRT

television said the Turkish coast guard, reinforced from the air by helicopters and a plane, launched a search in the area and that three Syrian vessels joined it. NTV television, without citing sources, said the plane crashed into Syrian waters. Turkish authorities did not immediately confirm or deny the report.

TRT said search teams have recovered one seat and parachute in the sea. It did not say where the recovery was made.

Turkey has joined nations such as the United States in saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down because of the uprising in his country that has killed thousands of people. Turkey also has set up refugee camps on its border for more than 32,000 Syrians who have fled the fighting.