German military plane crashes in New Mexico

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico (CNN) -- Authorities were searching early Thursday for a second crew member aboard a German military jet that crashed in southern New Mexico, according to a statement from Holloman Air Force Base.

Authorities found one of the two crew members, and he was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance, the statement said. The extent of his injuries was not known.

The German Tornado aircraft went down Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. EDT Thursday), spawning a forest fire, according to a spokesman for the Otero County Sheriff's Department.

Fire officials were still battling the blaze early Thursday, a Forestry Department spokesman said at 2 a.m. local time.

The plane went down near the Mescalara Indian Reservation, about 20 miles north of the Air Force base.

It was assigned to the German Air Force Flying Training Center at Holloman, the Air Force base said.

The Tornado is a twin-jet, two-seat, all-weather combat airplane equipped for extreme low-level flying.

Holloman AFB has been a host to the German Air Force Flying Training Center since 1996, according to the center's Web site. At least 35 Tornado aircraft are stationed at the Air Force base, located about 11 miles west of Alamogordo.