Source: NDTV
Three people were injured as a Sukhoi 30 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near an air base in Rajasthan’s Barmer. However, both pilots have managed to eject to safety.
As per reports, Narayan Ram, his daughter-in-law and grandson were injured in the crash. They have been admitted to the district hospital.
The incident occurred near Shivkar village in Sadar police station area in Barmer.
“Villagers told us that the pilot ejected shortly before the crash. Air Force officials have been informed about the incident,” Assistant Superintendent of Police, Rameshwar Lal said, adding, that the crash had caused damage to a hamlet.
An IAF official said that the aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it crashed near Utarlai air base in the afternoon. This is the seventh crash of a Su-30MKI aircraft since its induction in 1997.
Su-30MKI is the mainstay and the most modern fighter aircraft in the IAF inventory. India has contracted 272 Su-30MKIs from Russia of which over 230 have been inducted so far.
The last crash occurred in May 2015 near Tezpur air base in Assam. The entire fleet had been grounded then as per procedure for safety checks.