An American fighter jet crashed near a US air base in western Germany on Tuesday, injuring the pilot. Spangdahlem Air Base, a US military facility in the German state of Rheinland-Palatinate, said in a statement that an F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed at around 2.30pm local time. The pilot ejected safely and was receiving medical care, it said.

The air base said the cause of the incident was being investigated. Local authorities said that fire and disaster relief officers were deployed to the scene, but by 5pm the emergency response had ended. Another F-16 crashed last week in the US during a training exercise in Michigan.

The pilot ejected safely and about 30 people were treated for toxic chemical exposure, CNN reported. A military pilot told air traffic controllers that the aircraft may have hit a bird.