Kolkata, July 15: An Indian Air Force MIG-21 aircraft today caught fire in mid-air and crashed into a pond in a sparsely-populated village near Phansidewa in Darjeeling district. The pilot and a trainee pilot ejected from the flaming aircraft and were rescued in an injured condition, West Bengal DIG (Hq) of police N C Ghosh said. He said that the plane caught fire minutes after it took off from Bagdogra and crashed into a pond at a village in Phansidewa police station area in the afternoon.

No one on the ground was injured due to the accident, Ghosh said adding, wreckage of the aircraft was found floating on the pond.
Senior army and district officials rushed to the spot.
Bureau Report