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Friday, November 22, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Two Indian fighter jets crash in 10 days

A Mirage 2000 fighter plane of the Indian Air Force (IAF) today crashed near a village in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district, soon after taking off from an airbase in Gwalior, in a second mishap involving the aircraft type in 11 days.

The pilot managed to eject safely, IAF officials said. This is the second crash involving a Mirage-2000 aircraft since February 24.

"The crash took place 100 kilometres south-west of Jaipur near Baman Baas village in Sawai Madhopur district. Soon after taking off from Gwalior, the plane crashed at 12:45 hours. The pilot managed to bail out safely," the officials said.

IAF and Army teams have reached the site of the accident and the pilot is being attended to for his injuries, they said, adding that the aircraft was on a routine sortie.

A court of inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to ascertain the reason for the crash.

Superintendent of Police, Sawai Madhopur, Anshuman Singh said a police party had been dispatched to the crash spot which was located in a hilly area.

This is the third crash involving an IAF aircraft this year. A Kiran MK II trainer plane had crashed in Chennai on January 30.

The second crash involving a Mirage-2000 aircraft took place on February 24 near Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.