ISMAILIA, Egypt, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A small plane belonging to the Egyptian government's Nuclear Materials Authority crashed over northern Egypt on Tuesday, killing two pilots, security sources and state media said. Security sources said the plane crashed in the town of Port Said, located at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. The sources and state news agency MENA said the aircraft was on a reconnaissance flight.

"The plane crashed suddenly, falling in the Ahrash area near Port Said airport," one of the security sources said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. MENA said the aircraft was used to detect radioactivity and to search for metals, including uranium, in the Gulf of Suez and the Egyptian desert.

The pilots, Mahmoud Abdel Naby and Ashraf Shukri, were killed in the crash, security sources said. There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash.

Egypt has been seeking to diversify its energy resources, and President Hosni Mubarak said in late October that Egypt would build several civilian nuclear power stations to meet growing energy needs.

Washington has said it supports Egypt's plans to develop peaceful nuclear energy, and Russia, China and Kazakhstan have all offered cooperation. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Caroline Drees)

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