WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- An F-16 fighter jet based in the U.S. state of Wisconsin crashed in a national forest on Tuesday and the search for the pilot is still on, according to local authorities.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs said in a statement.

The crash occurred at around 8 p.m. local time (1300GMT) in Hiawatha National Forest located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The cause of the accident remains unknown.

Rescuers have been searching for the pilot, the only person on board, amid a joint action conducted by local emergency responders, the U.S. Coast Guard, the 115th Fighter Wing and other government agencies, the department said Wednesday.

"The status of the pilot is still unknown," Captain Leslie Westmont of the department told local media on Wednesday.

Delta County Sheriff Ed Oswald said the crash site is in the county's northeastern corner in a rural area within the national forest and is "a very remote area with no cellphone service."