Tejas crash: 'Patriot, outstanding athlete', IAF pilot's village in Himachal mourns a life lost too soon

Dharamsala/Hamirpur: For the people of Patiyalkar, a sleepy village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, the news of the death of local hero Namansh Syal – the IAF Wing Commander killed after a Tejas fighter jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on Saturday – is yet to sink in.

For most of them, Namansh, who was in his mid-30s, remains an outstanding athlete distinguished by his dedication to the country, “who even set an example in death by diverting the aircraft to save thousands present at the mega air show”.

Since early Saturday, heart-wrenching scenes have been witnessed at the Syal household in the Nagrota Bagwan area, with villagers trying to console the wailing family members mourning a life lost too soon.

Jogindernath Syal, Namansh’s uncle, told PTI Videos that the mortal remains of the wing commander reached the Sulur Air Force station near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu around 9 am on Saturday, from where they will be flown to the Gaggal airport in Kangra on Sunday.

“We have made all arrangements for the cremation,” he said.

Jogindernath came to know about the crash on Friday afternoon after Namansh's father, who was not at home at the time, called him and asked if he had any information about the incident.

“My wife rushed to their tenant, who works in Qatar and had come to the village on a holiday. After scanning the latest news on the internet, he confirmed that it was Namansh who was flying the jet that crashed.

“I immediately contacted my brother to give him the tragic news. Initially, he did not believe what I said, and came to terms with reality only after I told him that it was confirmed information,” he told PTI Videos.

Namansh is survived by his father, mother, wife, who is also serving in the Air Force, and their six-year-old daughter. Namansh and his wife met during their first posting in Pathankot, and later got married in 2014.

“As soon as I came to know about the crash, I contacted Namansh’s family members. Initially, we thought he was injured. Sadly, we were wrong… A promising career came to an abrupt end,” Nagrota Bagwan SDM Manish Kumar Sharma said.

Namansh’s alma mater, the Sainik School at Sujanpur Tira in neighbouring Hamirpur district, is also struggling to come to terms with the tragic passing of one of its illustrious alumni.

On Saturday, a special prayer meeting was held at the school during which principal Rachna Joshi and other teachers fondly remembered their former student.

Rakesh Rana, a staff member, said Namansh was the captain of Chenab House, who was also an outstanding athlete. He also remembered the roll number – 1906 – of Namansh, who was as part of the school’s 21st batch that passed out in 2005.

Many alumni of the school also shared photos and messages remembering their former schoolmate. Pankaj Chadha, former president of the Sainik School Sujanpur Old Boys Association, said Namansh brought glory to the country, and his martyrdom will always be remembered.

As the crash in Dubai cast a tragic shadow on an otherwise mega spectacle on the last day of the event, video footage showed the jet abruptly dropping height after what looked like a low-altitude manoeuvre and then nosedived into the ground in a matter of seconds before being engulfed in a ball of fire.

The single-engine light weight aircraft crashed around 3.40 pm IST after Namansh had flown across the site during the demonstration flight. The aerial display of Tejas was scheduled to last eight minutes.