Two Indian Air Force pilots were killed on Wednesday after a Jaguar fighter aircraft crashed around 1:25 pm in an agricultural field in Bhanuda village, near Churu district in Rajasthan. The incident occurred in the Ratangarh region.
IAF, in a post on X, said that no civilian property has been damaged and a court of inquiry has been ordered to find the cause behind the incident.
"An IAF Jaguar Trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan, today. Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported," IAF posted on X.
"IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief. A court of inquiry has been constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident," it added.
A team from the Rajaldesar Police Station reached the crash site shortly after and has launched a preliminary probe. The aircraft had taken off from the Suratgarh air base with two pilots onboard.
According to SHO Rajaldesar Kamlesh, human body parts were recovered from the wreckage site.
According to eyewitnesses, the jet appeared to lose stability mid-air before crashing and bursting into flames, states the News18 report. Smoke was seen billowing from the site, and emergency teams rushed to the area.
A team from the Rajaldesar Police Station is conducting preliminary investigations.
As per defence sources, IAF helicopters have already been deployed to the crash site.
However, details regarding the condition of the pilots and the cause of the crash are still awaited.
This is the third crash involving a Jaguar aircraft this year.
In April, a two-seater Jaguar jet went down during a night training mission soon after taking off from Jamnagar Airfield in Gujarat. The pilots had encountered a technical malfunction mid-flight and attempted ejection. One of them, Siddharth Yadav, succumbed to his injuries, while the other survived with injuries.
Earlier this March, another Jaguar crashed near Ambala in Haryana during a routine training sortie. The pilot had, however, managed to eject safely after steering the aircraft away from populated areas. The IAF had attributed that crash to a technical fault as well.
Authorities are yet to confirm the identities of the pilots aboard Wednesday’s ill-fated sortie.
The Bikaner Inspector General, en route to the crash site, told media that full details will be shared once officials complete the ground assessment.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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