FIRE PILOTS TRAGEDY: Two Dead After Water Bomber Crash

This is the horrifying moment a water-bomber firefighting plane banks through the air before it slams into the side of a mountain killing its two pilots.

Shocking video footage of the crash shows the plane in action over a forest fire on Sicily, the southern Italian island.

As the plane banks to the right to get closer to a blaze, it turns steeply before releasing its water payload.

But then it seems unable to pull out of the turn and clips a second hillside with its right wing, bringing the aircraft down in a massive fireball.

Further footage shows pieces of the aircraft scattered all over the mountain slope while the main wreckage is in flames.

Regional president Renato Schifani confirmed both men died on the day of the crash, 27th October.

Local media identified the crew only as a 62-year-old pilot from Salerno, mainland Italy and a 58-year-old former Air Force pilot from Lombardy region.

The two pilots reportedly crashed into the side of the 866-metre (2,257-foot)-tall Mount Calcinera near Linguaglossa while they were firefighting in the plane with the callsign Canadair 28.

The exact cause of the crash remains unclear.

The search for the missing pilots began shortly after the devastating crash and carried on into the evening, according to the directory of Sicily’s Forestry Corps, Giovanni Salerno.

He added at the time: “The pilots have not been found.

“I am here and the area is inaccessible and completely in the dark.

“Tomorrow at dawn we will resume the search.

“Foresters will also be involved.”