RIYADH: A Saudi military trainer aircraft crashed while on a training mission in the northwest of the kingdom, killing the crew, the defense ministry said yesterday. An investigation was opened into the cause of Monday’s crash of the British-manufactured Hawk, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

It provided no further details of the circumstances of the accident and did not specify how many crew were on board. HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of condolences to Saudi King Salman yesterday over crash, expressing his deepest sorrow and grief over the fatalities. HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah also sent similar cables. – Agencies