Two Indian Military Planes Collide, Killing One Of The Pilots

One pilot was killed when two fighter planes belonging to the Indian Air Force crashed on Saturday while participating in training operations south of the nation’s capital, New Delhi.

A French-built Mirage 2000 and a Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30, each carrying three pilots, were also involved in the disaster.

From the Gwalior air base, which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of where they crashed, both aircraft had taken out in the morning.

According to a statement from the nation’s air force, “the aircraft were on regular operational flying training mission,” adding that one of the three pilots had suffered fatal injuries.

It also said that an inquiry was being conducted to ascertain the crash’s cause.

In the jungles of Padargarh, around 300 kilometers away, another pilot was discovered alive but wounded, police official Dharmender Gaur said to AFP from the accident site (185 miles).

The officer said, “We have found one of the aircraft’ wreckage.” “We have despatched teams to find the second aircraft, which has presumably crashed further from the spot.”

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, tweeted that local authorities had been told to help with the air force’s rescue and relief efforts.

He said, “I hope to God that the plane’s pilots are safe.

The incident is only the most recent in a succession of mishaps involving India’s military jet force.

In Arunachal Pradesh state, close to the militarized and contentious border with China, five army troops perished in a helicopter accident in October.

After a Cheetah helicopter crashed in the town of Tawang, killing its pilot, it was the second military helicopter disaster in the state that month.