An Indian Air Force fighter jet crashed near Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri on Thursday during routine sortie, reported ANI quoting Defence officials. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash of the twin-seater Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft. More details awaited.
As per media reports, both the pilots ejected safely from the aircraft and there were no casualties reported in the incident.
Local administration rushed the spot immediately following the incident. The cause of accident is yet to be ascertained.
Video of the aftermath of the incident shows debris of the aircraft caught up in flames while hundreds of people gathered at the crash site.
In a statement on X, the Indian Air Force said: "A Mirage 2000 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Shivpuri (Gwalior), during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. Both the pilots ejected safely."
"An enquiry has been ordered by the IAF, to ascertain the cause of the accident," it added.
November last year, an Indian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet spiralled uncontrollably downwards in a flat spin in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, moments before the crash.
The IAF said the aircraft suffered a "system malfunction" before the crash.
The pilots had ejected safely, veering away the aircraft away from populated areas to prevent any casualties on the ground.
On September 2 last year, a MiG-29 crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer and the IAF said the mishap occured due to a "critical technical snag."