One pilot died in the crash of an F-4 fighter jet in the Ionian Sea in western Greece on Monday, and rescuers are searching for the plane's co-pilot, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said, Reuters reported.

The two-seat fighter jet was conducting exercises when it crashed 46 kilometers south of Andravida Airport on the Peloponnese Peninsula, the Athens News Agency reported.

Greece first acquired U.S. F-4 fighters in 1974.