"The aircraft crashed into the sea... (and) so far two bodies and some wreckage have been retrieved," the ministry said in a statement.

Navy divers are still searching for the two remaining people, it added.

Earlier the ministry said "communications have been lost with a helicopter which was making a night flight in the Cape Serrat area yesterday (Wednesday) evening".

"Land, sea and air resources have been mobilised in coordination with the interior ministry to carry out searches to locate the aircraft and establish the fate of its crew of four."

The Tunisian military has lost a number of aircraft on training or reconnaissance missions in recent years.

In October 2021, three soldiers were killed when an army helicopter crashed during a night exercise in the southern province of Gabes.

The findings of an official investigation into that incident have still not been released.