The plane carrying Ajit Pawar crashed in Baramati, killing all five on board.
Credit: PTI Photo
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar died in a place crash in Baramati on Wednesday.
Pawar was flying to the region in Pune district to address several meetings and rallies ahead of the zilla parishad and panchayat elections scheduled for next month in the state.
The Maharashtra leader had taken off from Mumbai on a Learjet 45 aircraft operated by VT-SSK before crashing while landing at the Baramati airport.
According to aircraft tracker Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. The plane was attempting a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed.
There were no survivours in the accident. Apart from Ajit Pawar, four others, including the two crew members lost their lives in the tragic incident, the DGCA said in a statement.
The two other passengers were Vidit Jadhav and Pinki Mali, while the crew members included Captain Sumit Kapur and Captain Shambhavi Pathak.
Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital," he said.
A team of DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) officials is heading to the crash site, an official told PTI.
Meanwhile, MP and niece Supriya Sule, wife Sunetra Pawar and son Parth Pawar are leaving for Baramati from Delhi.