The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that “as per initial information, no person on board has survived the accident”, soon after a plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed in Baramati.
According to the DGCA, Pawar was with “2 more staff (1 PSO and 1 assistant) and 2 crew members (PIC+FO)”. They were aboard a Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Aviation.
The plane was landing at Baramati airport when it crashed, sources said, adding that the plane has seating capacity of six, including the pilot.
The Pawar family was in Delhi at Sharad Pawar’s house to attend the first day of the budget session of Parliament. Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar will soon leave for Baramati.
An onlooker who owns a shop next to Baramati airport told The indian express“The plane was making a lot of noise when landing, so my attention was focused on it. It seemed to be trying to land but it went off the runway and there was a big explosion. Four to five bodies were taken out of the plane.”
Pawar was on his way from Bombay to Pune to attend four campaign rallies for the ongoing Zilla Parishad elections. Elections for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra will be held on February 5, with counting of votes scheduled for February 7.