HELSINKI, May 7 (Reuters) - A fighter jet belonging to

the Finnish Air Force crashed near an airport in northern

Finland on Wednesday, the country's military said, adding that

the pilot had ejected from the aircraft and was taken to

hospital.

Smoke was seen rising from the general direction of

where the aircraft went down and there was a strong smell of

smoke in the air, public broadcaster Yle reported. The area was

cordoned off by local police.

"An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet plunged to the ground in the

Rovaniemi airport area," the Air Force said in a statement.

It later added that the pilot had been taken to a medical

facility to be examined and that no one had been injured on the

ground.

The Rovaniemi airport remained open, its operator

separately said.

Finland has 62 Hornet fighter jets bought between 1992

and 2000. The Nordic country in 2021 decided to replace them

with Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters.