Two Fighters Jets of Indian Air Force Crash, 1 Pilot Dead

BHOPAL: Two fighter jets belonging to the Indian Air Force crashed in the first half of Saturday while on a training exercise. One pilot is said to have expired, while two others are undergoing treatment in a medical facility.

According to reports, a Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 and a French-made Mirage 200 crashed today in two parts of the country. Both the fighter jets had taken off from the Gwalior Airforce Base in Madhya Pradesh which has squadrons of both the Sukhoi Su 30 and the Mirage 2000. They were reportedly taking part in a training flight exercise when this incident happened.

While one of the aircraft crashed in the Morena region of Madhya Pradesh, the debris of the second was discovered about 100 km Northwest of that location in the Bharatpur region of Rajasthan.

According to reports, the Sukhoi fighter jet had two pilots onboard. They managed to eject before the plane crashed. These two pilots were airlifted from the location for medical attention. The Mirage 2000 was operated by a single pilot who was not able to eject from the plane in time and lost his life.

Both fighter jets were completely destroyed in the incident and an enquiry to find the reason for the crashes has already been started.

"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." mentioned the Indian Air Force on Twitter.

Although no official statement has been made regarding the reasons for the incident from either the Air Force or the Defence Ministry, a lot of speculations are on about possible mid-air collusion between the two jets. But the discovery of the debris at a distance of nearly 100 km from each other raises questions about that theory.

Two videos regarding the incident are being shared across social media. While one shows the debris of one of the fighter jets in flames spread across an area in Morena, the second video shows the pilots being airlifted using a military helicopter.

Also Read: Another Army Chopper Crashes in Arunachal Pradesh

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