A Sukhoi-30MKI fighter plane crashed in Shivkar Kudia village in Barmer, Rajasthan, hours after an IAF Chetak helicopter crash-landed in Allahabad. All pilots are reported to be safe, with the two pilots in the Sukhoi ejecting before the plane crashed, while the two pilots in the helicopter survived their crash landing.
Three locals have been injured in Barmer, DD News reported.
The jet crashed during a routine sortie. The incident took place hours after a Chetak helicopter of the Indian Air Force crash-landed in Uttar Pradesh, moments after it took off from an airbase on the outskirts of Allahabad on Wednesday morning.
In September 2016, a MiG-21 aircraft had crashed in Barmer.
The Chetak helicopter toppled while making an emergency landing during a training sortie after taking off from Bamrauli near Allahabad. The chopper toppled when the pilots tried a forced landing on an uneven field after it developed a technical snag, sources in the IAF said.
The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry (COI) to ascertain the cause of the accident.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)