An American F-16 fighter jet crashed during an exercise on Saturday near a US military base in South Korea, CNN reports, citing the US military.

The fighter jet, assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing, "crashed in an agricultural area near Osan Air Base at approximately 09:45 am" [South Korea] time, the United States Air Force in South Korea said in a statement.

The pilot ejected safely and was taken to the nearest medical facility, the statement said. According to the US Armed Forces, no civilians were injured in the incident.

The fire was extinguished by the local fire department, Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of the South Korean province Gyeonggi-do, wrote on Twitter.