India: Two air force jets, Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000, crash near Morena in Madhya Pradesh; one pilot dead

Two fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) – Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 – crashed near Morena in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday (January 28), killing one pilot. The jets had taken off from Gwalior.Taking to Twitter, the air force said that the aircraftwere on a routine operational flying training mission. "Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission. One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident."

Earlier, defence sources told WION that the Sukhoi-30 had two pilots and while the Mirage 2000 had one pilot. Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh is monitoring the situation and is in touch with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and the air force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.

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#WATCH | Wreckage seen. A Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed near Morena, Madhya Pradesh. Search and rescue operations launched. The two aircraft had taken off from the Gwalior air base where an exercise was going on. pic.twitter.com/xqCJ2autOe — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2023

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, meanwhile, tweeted that he directed the local administration to cooperate with the air force in quick rescue and relief work.

मुरैना के कैलारस के पास वायुसेना के सुखोई-30 और मिराज-2000 विमानों के दुर्घटनाग्रस्त होने की खबर अत्यंत दुखद है। मैंने स्थानीय प्रशासन को त्वरित बचाव एवं राहत कार्य में वायुसेना के सहयोग के निर्देश दिए हैं। विमानों के पायलट के सुरक्षित होने की ईश्वर से कामना करता हूं। — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) January 28, 2023

Aircraft debris found in Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Earlier, another crash was reported in Rajasthan's Bharatpur on Saturdaythough speaking to news agency ANI, SP Morena said, "Two jets — Mirage & Sukhoi — took off from Gwalior in the morning...As per IAF, one aircraft had 2 pilots, while the other had one; 2 safely rescued, body parts of 3rd found. Some parts of the jet were found in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, details being collected."

Initially,Bharatpur District Collector Alok Ranjan said that it was a charter jet. However, defence sources later confirmed that it was an IAF aircraft, news agency ANI reported.

"Received info about a plane crash around 10-10.15 am. After coming here, it was found it was an IAF fighter jet. Going by the debris, we're unable to adjudge if it's a fighter plane or a regular plane. Yet to know if pilots got out or or not," Bharatpur DSP told the news agency. Further details are awaited.

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