British Pilot Missing over Mediterranean, Says French police

French authorities said on Saturday they had lost all trace of a light aircraft piloted by a 66-year-old Briton over the Mediterranean Sea.

The Tobago aircraft, with just the pilot on board, took off from the southern French city of Cannes on Friday, heading for Salerno in southern Italy.

"The last radar signal indicated the plane was around 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the south of Cannes," officials said.

Despite efforts by French and Italian naval authorities, "the investigations ... have not succeeded in finding the pilot or the plane," they said.

Air searches were called off at 2pm local time (1200 GMT) but a ship was due to remain in the area until nightfall to continue the hunt.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the incident.