Videos shot by locals in Morena showed the wreckage of the plane lying on the ground.
Bhopal:
Two Indian Air Force fighter jets – a Sukhoi Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 – crashed during a training exercise, resulting in the death of one pilot, officials said on Saturday. While one plane crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena, the other is believed to have crashed 100 km away in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur.
Defense sources said the Sukhoi had two pilots, while the Miraj had one pilot. Both the aircraft are used by the Indian Air Force on the frontline. Both the Sukhoi pilots managed to eject and were taken by helicopter to the hospital.
Two fighter jets of the Indian Air Force crashed near Gwalior this morning. The aircraft were on a routine operational flight training mission.
One of the three pilots involved suffered fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to find out the cause of the accident.– Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 28, 2023
Both the fighters took off from the Gwalior Air Force base, which has squadrons of both the Russian-designed Sukhoi and the French Mirage 2000.
Videos shot by locals in Morena showed smoldering wreckage of the plane strewn on the ground.
Defense sources told NDTV that the Air Force has launched an inquiry to determine whether a mid-air collision caused the crash.
“IAF Court of Inquiry has been initiated to establish whether the mid-air collision took place or not. Su-30 had two pilots on board during the accident while Mirage 2000 had one pilot. Initial reports suggest that two The pilots are safe while an IAF chopper is reaching. Location of the third pilot soon,” sources said.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has been briefed by the Indian Air Force chief on the crash of the two planes, news agency PTI reported.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted, “The news of the crash of Air Force’s Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft near Kolaras in Morena is extremely sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force. Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe.”
