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IAF Jet trainer aircraft crashes on Subarnarekha river bed, pilot ejected to safety

A Indian Air Force (IAF) Jet trainer aircraft crashed near Topaghat village on the Subarnarekha river bed along Odisha-Jharkhand border…

IAF Jet trainer aircraft crashes on Subarnarekha river bed, pilot ejected to safety

Huge crater was created in the river bed of Subarnarekha near Topaghat village area after the aircraft plunged into the ground. (Photo: SNS)

A Indian Air Force (IAF) Jet trainer aircraft crashed near Topaghat village on the Subarnarekha river bed along Odisha-Jharkhand border on Tuesday.

The pilot of the jet ejected to safety. The aircraft plunged in to the river bed creating a huge crater.

The injured pilot was rushed to Bahadaguda hospital and later shifted by a IAF helicopter. The aircraft was in splinters and a portion of it was submerged in water with fire around it.

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A team of seven officers from the Kaleikunda air base reached the spot and examined the wreckage, informed a senior police officer of the district who was busy keeping the curious crowd at bay.

It is learnt that the trainer aircraft took off from Kaleikunda air base in neighbouring West Bengal and within few moments it crashed.

It is sheer luck that the aircraft hit the river bed and did not cause any damage to life or property, remarked locals while pointing out that the village is a few meters from the place of occurrence.

Villagers said they heard a loud sound that shocking them. They thought it was a tremor.

It was only when they saw the flames that they rushed to the spot and realized that it was an aircraft. Mayurbhanj SP Abinash Kumar said pilot of the jet was tracked by Jharpokharia police.

Police and local people brought the pilot with Bahadaguda hospital and the officials who were coming from Kaleikunda later took him for the treatment. A police team also been engaged at the crash spot and cooperated the air force team.

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