Two crew members have been declared missing after an Indian navy plane crashed into the sea off the western state of Goa.

The navy said the plane, a Dornier surveillance aircraft, was on a routine flight when it went down late on Tuesday. The cause is not yet known.

One crew member was rescued and a search operation has been launched for the missing two, Indian navy spokesman, Rahul Sinha said in a statement.

This is the latest accident for the Indian military.

Last November, one crew member died and four were missing when a navy ship sank during exercises off the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.

In March 2014, a navy officer died in an accident on board a ship being built at a dockyard in Mumbai.

A month earlier, a fire on board a nuclear submarine off Mumbai left two sailors dead. The navy chief resigned in response.

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India Navy Plane Crashes