Indian Air Force (IAF) aircrafts perform during the full dress rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade, in New Delhi on January 23, 2023. (File photo: AFP)
NEW DELHI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots flying the fighter jet Sukhoi-30 that crashed in India on Saturday are safe, while the fate of the third pilot flying the Mirage-2000 is not known yet, said official sources in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the two fighter jets crashed while they were on a routine operational flying training mission.
The wreckage of Mirage-2000 was found in the Morena district of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, while the remains of Sukhoi-30 were found in the Bharatpur district of neighboring state Rajasthan.
It is yet to be ascertained if there was a mid-air collision between the two jets. Morena and Bharatpur are located nearly 100 km away.
The two fighter jets had taken off from IAF's Gwalior Airbase minutes before they crashed. "Two pilots flying the Sukhoi-30 had ejected safely, though received some injuries. They have been airlifted and admitted to a hospital. The fate of the pilot in Mirage-2000 is yet to be known," an IAF source in Delhi was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan to take stock of the situation.
