Four additional individuals including the deputy leader of an Indian state were murdered on Wednesday after their rented aircraft crashed in the west of the nation, according to officials.
The civil aviation ministry said in a statement that the aircraft carrying Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, crashed in an open field while landing at the state’s Baramati airport at approximately 8:44 am (0314 GMT).
The 66-year-old, a prominent politician in Maharashtra, the state that is home to Mumbai, the financial center of India, was flying on a Bombardier Learjet 45 run by the private company VSR Aviation.
According to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Pawar’s personal security officer, an assistant, and two crew members were also on board at the time of the incident.
V.K. Singh, the owner of VSR Aviation, ruled out any mechanical issues by stating that the aircraft was “very well maintained.”
“The airplane had no issues at all. He told reporters in New Delhi, the company’s headquarters, “As far as we know, there was no technical failure.”
In a post on X after the crash, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Pawar as a “leader of the people.”
Modi described Pawar as a “widely respected” and “hardworking” political veteran, calling his passing “shocking and saddening.”
