Two crew of a Royal Navy helicopter had a lucky escape after their Lynx crashed into the Arabian Sea.

The pilot and observer had to abandon their cockpit after the aircraft collided with a warship of the Omani navy on Saturday.

The pair managed to escape as the cockpit filled with water and rapidly sank, forces said.

The men, based on HMS Marlborough, are recovering from minor injuries in hospital onboard the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious.

The incident happened during a joint exercise between UK and Omani forces.

The Lynx helicopter was carrying out an exercise in which it dropped a dummy torpedo into the sea.

One report said it was still hovering over the spot when an Omani vessel sailed into it from behind, catching the helicopter's rotor blades on its rigging.

An investigation has been launched.