PUNE: A chartered aircraft carrying Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Baramati airport on Wednesday morning, killing all five people on board, officials said.A local villager who witnessed the incident said the aircraft exploded moments after hitting the ground.
“I saw it with my own eyes. When the plane was descending, it looked like it would crash—and it did. Soon after, it exploded,” the eyewitness told news agency ANI. “When we rushed to the spot, the aircraft was completely on fire. There were four to five more explosions. People tried to pull the passengers out, but the fire was too intense. Ajit Pawar was on board. This is extremely painful. I can’t describe it in words.”He added,” The plane it was flying towards the runway and just fell 100 feet before approaching it.”The aircraft, a Learjet 45 (registration VT-SSK) operated by VSR, crashed at around 8.45 am while attempting an emergency landing at Baramati airport, officials and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. Apart from Pawar, those on board included his personal security officer, an attendant, and two crew members—the pilot-in-command and the first officer. Initial reports confirmed that no one survived the crash.Visuals from the crash site showed mangled wreckage engulfed in flames as villagers and emergency responders gathered at the scene. Pawar was en route to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad elections. He had been in Mumbai a day earlier, attending a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah contacted CM Fadnavis to seek updates on the incident, the state government said. Ajit Pawar’s cousin and Baramati MP Supriya Sule left for Maharashtra after learning of his death, as leaders from across party lines began arriving at the Pawar residence.Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply shocked and pained” by the untimely demise, recalling Pawar’s long commitment to public service and Maharashtra’s development. Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Priyanka Chaturvedi and Arvind Sawant also mourned the loss, describing Pawar as a committed, bold leader who played a major role in Baramati’s development.The DGCA has launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the crash.
