A Greek pilot died after an F-4 fighter jet crashed in the Ionian Sea off the country's western coast on Monday, the Greek defense ministry said.

Rescuers are searching for the jet's second pilot, the ministry said.

The two-seater jet was conducting a training exercise when it crashed 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) south of the airport of Andravida in the Peloponnese peninsula, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported.

Greece first acquired the U.S.-made F-4, or Phantom fighter jets, in 1974.