Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on board a chartered flight from Mumbai to Baramati when it made an emergency landing at Baramati airport at 8:45 am on Wednesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed his death.
The first pictures and videos of the crash show the plane engulfed in flames. Details regarding the cause of the crash and the reason for the attempted emergency landing are still awaited.
The 66-year-old was scheduled to attend four key public meetings today. The accident took place in the morning when the NCP leader was flying to his hometown to address public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad polls.
The plane that went down in ashes was a Learjet 45, according to the Hindustan Times. “The VT SSK plane was trying to land and the plane went off the side of the runway and crashed,” HT quoted Baramati Airport Manager Shivaji Taware as saying.
Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar and his sister Supriya Sule are heading to Baramati for the last rites. Mourning the great loss, Ajit Pawar’s brother Shriniwas Pawar said, “It is a very sad moment for us. No one survived the accident. My son Yugendra is in the hospital in Baramati. We are all heading to Baramati. The last rites will be in Baramati.”
“All six people, including Ajit Pawar, have been brought to death,” said Kiran Gujar, a close aide of Ajit Pawar, who is currently in a local hospital.
Shortly after the fatal crash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to get details on the situation. Baramati Airport, where Ajit Pawar’s plane made an emergency landing, was earlier run by a private operator and was recently handed over to the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation, HT reported.
Who was on board along with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister?
Ajit Pawar was on board the Learjet 45 with two of his security personnel and two crew members. The DGCA confirmed that all six had died.
