Article Posted on : - Oct 16, 2014

Villagers gather near an Indian Air Force Sukhoi SU-30MKI fighter aircraft that crashed at village Theoor near Pune on Tuesday. Photo: PTI.

PUNE (PTI): A Sukhoi-30 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed at a village near here this evening with both the pilots ejecting to safety, defence and police officials said.

The aircraft was on a routine training mission from the IAF Pune airbase.

It crashed while coming in for landing at a distance of approximately 22 km from the Pune airfield.

Both the pilot and the co-pilot were safe and inquiry had been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident, a defence release said, adding that no loss of life and property was reported from the spot of mishap.

Although the release issued tonight did not name the fighter aircraft, defence PRO attached to the Southern Command confirmed that it was a Sukhoi-30 jet.

Pune rural police superintendent Manoj Lohiya told PTI that the aircraft came down about 4 km from village Theur, famous in Maharashtra for its Ganesh temple.

The pilots, who bailed out, were immediately taken to safety by air force officials who rushed to the spot.

As the plane crashed on a grassy patch of land, away from the residential area, there were no reports of any damage or casualty on the ground, Lohia added.

About two years ago, a Sukhoi training flight had crashed near Pune in similar circumstances.