NEW DELHI: Two pilots were killed after a fighter jet belonging to the Indian Air Force crashed during a training mission in India’s northeastern state of Assam, officials said on Friday.
According to the air force, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI went down in the Karbi Anglong region, about 60 kilometres from the city of Jorhat.
In an earlier statement posted on X, the IAF said the aircraft had taken off from Jorhat but was later reported overdue after failing to make contact at its scheduled time.
“The aircraft was last in communication at around 7:42pm local time,” the air force said, adding that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to locate the jet.
Authorities later confirmed that the aircraft had crashed and that both pilots on board had died in the incident.
The crash comes amid a series of recent accidents involving Indian military aircraft. Around 10 days ago, a HAL Tejas operated by the Indian Air Force sustained major damage after overshooting the runway at a frontline airbase.
In another incident in November last year, a Tejas aircraft crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Airshow, killing the pilot. Witnesses reported seeing a fireball and thick black smoke rising from the crash site shortly after the aircraft struck the ground.
The Indian Air Force has not yet released further details about the cause of the latest crash, and an investigation is expected to be launched.