TEHRAN, May 5 (Xinhua) -- A second U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft that was carrying out operations over the Gulf squawked 7700 emergency signal on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia's airspace as it was on its way back to Israel's Tel Aviv, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

The report identified the aircraft as a Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, saying the first aircraft that had sent the same distress code earlier in the day was a KC-135R Stratotanker.

Tasnim cited a post by MenchOsint military observer on social media platform X as saying, "Wouldn't be surprised if they collided mid-flight earlier."

Flight tracking data and regional reports show that the KC-135 Stratotanker, operated by the U.S. Air Force, reportedly experienced an in-flight emergency over the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz region and squawked 7700 before vanishing from radar tracking systems. ■