A pilot, on Saturday, January 28, died in a crash involving two Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets in the nation’s capital, New Delhi.
The crash involved a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30, carrying two pilots, and a French-built Mirage 2000, operated by another pilot.
Both aircrafts took off from the Gwalior air base, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east on Saturday morning.
The country’s air force, while confirming the development in a statement, noted that, “The jets were on routine operational flying training mission.”
It added that two out of the three pilots involved sustained fatal injuries, adding that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash, The Punch reports.
Police officer, Dharmender Gaur, who was at the scene of the crash, noted that the pilots were found in the forests of Padargarh around 300 kilometres (185 miles).
Gaur said that, “We have located the wreckage of one of the planes. The other plane has likely fallen further away from the site.
“However, we have sent a team to locate it.”
The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while confirming the incident, urged local authorities to assist with the air force’s rescue and relief work.
“I pray to God that the other pilots in the planes are safe,” he added.
The crash is the latest in a string of aviation accidents involving India’s military air fleet.
Recall that five soldiers, in October 2021, were killed when their helicopter crashed in Arunachal Pradesh state, near the country’s militarized and disputed border with China.
It was the second military chopper crash in the state that month, and it happened weeks after a Cheetah helicopter crashed near the town of Tawang.
Also, India’s defence chief, General Bipin Rawat, was among the 13 people killed when his Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed while transporting him to an air force base in December 2021.
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