Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Among Five Killed in Pune Aircraft Crash
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others lost their lives after a private aircraft carrying them crashed near Baramati in Pune district on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The incident occurred while the aircraft was attempting to land near Baramati. According to flight tracking data, the plane departed from Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. The crash was reported at approximately 8.50 am.
Police officials said there were five people on board the aircraft at the time of the crash. Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill stated that the aircraft caught fire immediately after the accident. “Those on board were rushed to hospital, but they succumbed to their injuries,” he said.
Sources indicated that the pilot had reported poor visibility near the runway shortly before attempting to land. The aircraft, identified as a Learjet 45 a mid-size business jet manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace reportedly overshot the runway and burst into flames.
Ajit Pawar, 66, was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 zilla parishad elections.
Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, and two sons, Parth and Jay.
A senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Pawar began his political career in 1991 when he was elected chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank. The same year, he entered Parliament after winning the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. He later went on to represent the Baramati Assembly constituency for seven consecutive terms and served as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister six times under different governments.
In recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, Pawar’s NCP had contested in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Further details regarding the crash and an official investigation are awaited.
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