India Today
28th January 2023 – (Morena) Two Indian Air Force fighter jets crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena on Saturday. Both the pilots, who sustained injuries in the tragedy, had ejected safely, the administration said. The debris of both Su-30 and Mirage 2000 have been found.
Videos from the scene, shot by locals in Morena, showed debris of the aircraft on the ground. Both the fighter jets had taken off from the Gwalior Air Force base. A Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft have crashed near Morena, Madhya Pradesh. Search and rescue operations have been launched,” defence sources said. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to examine if a mid-air collision led to the crash.
“The two aircraft took off from the Gwalior air base in MP where an exercise was going on,” sources added.
Morena Collector said that the crash happened at 5.30 am. Pilots ejected safely from SU-30 and they sustained minor injuries, he said.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Adarsh Katiyar told PTI that the cause of the crash is not clear yet. “It is not clear whether the planes collided against each other or not,” he said.
wo pilots ejected safely, but the third one is missing, he said.
BOTH PILOTS SAFE
The Su-30 had two pilots while Mirage 2000 had one pilot during the crash. Initial reports suggest both pilots are safe while an IAF chopper will reach the location of the third pilot soon, defence sources said.
“The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to establish whether there was a mid-air collision or not. The Su-30 had 2 pilots while Mirage 2000 had one pilot during the crash. Initial reports suggest 2 pilots are safe while an IAF chopper reaching the location of the 3rd pilot soon,” defence sources said.
DEFENCE MINISTER BRIEFED
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took stock of the situation and spoke to IAF chief VR Chaudhari and is continuously monitoring the situation.
“Rajnath Singh was briefed by the Chief of Air Staff on the crash of two aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The defence minister enquired about the well-being of the IAF pilots and is monitoring the developments closely,” defence sources told India Today.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the crash and issued instructions for quick rescue operations.
“The news of crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe,” he tweeted.