NewsGate Press Network

It was a bad day for the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday the 28th of January 2023 when one pilot died while two others were injured after a Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 collided in mid-air during a training exercise near Gwalior Air Base

While two pilots from Sukhoi 30 survived the Mirage 2000 pilot died.

“The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission… An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident. The IAF deeply regrets to inform that Wg Cdr Hanumanth Rao Sarathi suffered fatal injuries during the accident. All air warriors and the fraternity stand strongly with the bereaved family,” the Air Force conveyed via social media.

The fighter planes had taken off from Gwalior Airbase and shortly thereafter the Mirage went down near Manpur village in this district’s Pahargarh area while the Sukhoi’s debris lay within a forest in Uchchain Police Station limits of Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district.

Search teams – with the assistance of administrative and law-enforcement officials – found two of three pilots in injured condition and they were airlifted. Eye-witnesses reported seeing a massive ball of fire in the sky.