Ajit Pawar among five killed in deadly Maharashtra aircraft crash

Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, was killed in a charter aircraft crash that also claimed the lives of four others on board, on Wednesday.

The aviation regulator confirmed that the aircraft went down in flames while Pawar was travelling to his home region to campaign in local body elections.

Two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew members were also on the flight, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

“No person on board has survived,” the regulator said in an initial statement.

Pawar, a senior leader from one of Maharashtra’s most influential political families, was en route from Mumbai to Baramati, a stronghold for the Pawar family located about 250 kilometres from the state capital.

According to reports, the aircraft attempted an emergency landing before crashing in an open field near the destination.

Video footage shared by Indian outlets showed thick smoke rising from burning wreckage scattered across farmland, as emergency crews rushed to the scene.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and investigators are expected to examine flight data and wreckage in the coming days.

Pawar had been serving as deputy chief minister in Maharashtra’s coalition government and led a faction of the Nationalist Congress Party that split in 2023.

His group later aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.