New Delhi: Two pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were killed in a crash of a Su-30 MKI fighter jet in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.
The IAF confirmed on Friday the deaths of Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar, a day after the Russian-origin aircraft went missing.
The jet was on a training sortie and disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Jorhat airbase on Thursday.
“The IAF acknowledges the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the Su-30 crash,” the IAF said in a brief statement.
“All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences, and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” it said.
Communication with the aircraft was lost at 7:42 pm on Thursday, officials had said.
At approximately 1 am on Friday, the IAF confirmed the Su-30MKI that disappeared from radar on Thursday has crashed.
Su-30MKI is a two-seater multirole long-range fighter jet developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi.It is now built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for the IAF.
The IAF operates a fleet of over 260 Su-30MKI jets.
A Sukhoi fighter plane had crashed in Nashik district of Maharashtra in June 2024. Another Sukhoi-30 jet had crashed in January, 2023 after taking off from the Gwalior airbase.
