two fighter jets of the Indian Air Force crashed in the Morena region of Madhya Pradesh’s Pahadgarh district on Saturday.
Morena additional superintendent of police Rai Singh Narwariya said, “Airforce team is reaching the spot to confirm about the plane and number of people present in it. Police found a hand near the plane.”
ANI reported citing defence sources that a Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft have crashed.
Confirming the incident, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he has instructed the local administration to cooperate with the air force in quick rescue and relief work.
“The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe,” Chouhan tweeted in Hindi.
News agency ANI reported citing defence sources the two aircraft had taken off from the Gwalior air base in Madhya Pradesh where an exercise was going on.
Additional director general of police (ADGP) Adarsh Katiyar told news agency PTI that the cause of the crash is not clear yet. “It is not clear whether the planes collided against each other or not,” he said.
The IAF court of inquiry to establish whether there was a mid-air collision or not. The Su-30 had two pilots, while Mirage 2000 had one pilot during the crash. Initial reports suggest two pilots are safe, while an IAF chopper reaching the location of the third pilot soon, defence sources told ANI.
“Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh was briefed by the Chief of Air Staff on the crash of two aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Raksha Mantri enquired about the well-being of the IAF pilots and is monitoring the developments closely,” defence ministry sources said.