Six Israelis and one Romanian on board a military helicopter have been confirmed as dead after the aircraft crashed into a mountain on Monday night.

An Israeli defence ministry statement said: "Search and rescue teams have found no survivors.

"Defence Minister Gabriel Oprea expresses his deep regret over the death of the seven soldiers."

Earlier, Israeli air force spokesman, Brigadier General Avi Benayahu said: "It would have been very difficult to have come out of this incident alive. “

The crew, who ranged in age from 24 to 48, were on board the CH-53 helicopter for a routine training exercise.

Onlookers said the aircraft burst into flames after hitting the peak of a mountain in central Romania, 90 miles north of Bucharest.

Officials are investigating bad weather conditions but said it was unlikely a technical fault was to blame.