Sukhoi fighter jet crashes in Assam; both pilots eject safely

Guwahati: A Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nagaon district of Assam on Tuesday afternoon. Luckily, both the pilots managed to survive.

As per reports, the jet crashed 35 kilometres from Tezpur. Both the pilots managed to eject safely and in time from the aircraft, reports added.

The incident took place at around 12:30 pm.

An inquiry has been ordered into the crash.

The aircraft had taken off from the Tezpur air base "on a routine mission", an official said.

"After take off, the aircraft had developed a technical snag and the pilots were forced to abandon the aircraft. Both the pilots ejected. The ejection was safe and the aircraft crashed at 1230 hours... in a thick forest near Tezpur.

"A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," Group Captain Amit Mahajan, the Defence Ministry PRO in Shillong, said in a statement.

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet is developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force.

(With IANS inputs)