Rescuers were combing dense jungle in Selangor after finding tracks leading from the wreckage of a light aircraft which crashed four days ago with two people on board, officials said today.

The pilot of the Piper 28 aircraft, Nasir Ma Lee, is an experienced ex-airforce flyer and officials hope his training will help him and a young female student pilot survive in the rough terrain.

Wreckage of the plane was found after radio contact was lost shortly after the plane took off from the capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday and headed for Kota Bahru in Kelantan.

But when rescuers hacked their way through to the crash site, they found tracks suggesting that the two flyers had survived and were trying to make their own way out of the jungle.

"We are actively supporting the search and rescue operation. We are highly hopeful, they will be found," police air unit deputy commander Chuah Ghee Lye told AFP.

Search is on

An official with the Department of Civil Aviation rescue coordinating centre said six teams of police and local tribesmen were searching for the pair.

"We are closing in from two directions," he told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that "the thick jungle was making search efforts tough."

Malaysia's tropical jungles can provide food and water for those who know where to look, the officials said.

The student pilot has been identified as Nozarullah Mohamad Sultan, 28. - AFP