A prominent politician is among five dead after a private plane crashed during an emergency landing at an airport in western India on Wednesday, aviation authorities said.
Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, was killed along with four others after his plane crashed around 9am local time in Baramati town in the state.
The incident happened roughly an hour after the aircraft took off from the state capital of Mumbai. India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, said the five victims included Pawar, two pilots, and two other passengers, one of whom was his personal security officer.
It was a chartered aircraft with a seating capacity of six, including the pilot, according to Indian media reports. The police ruled out any possibility of survivors on the aircraft.
Television footage showed the aircraft’s wreckage scattered across the crash site, with parts of the plane engulfed in flames as emergency services and police cordoned off the area. Smoke could be seen rising from the debris as local residents gathered nearby.
The aircraft, identified as a Learjet 45, is reported to have lost control while attempting an emergency landing. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and an investigation has been launched.
An eyewitness who owns a shop near the Baramati airport told The Indian Express: “The aircraft was making a lot of noise while landing so my attention went to it. It tried landing but slid off the runway and there was a big explosion just like they show in movies. They have pulled out 4-5 bodies from the aircraft till now.”
Pawar, a prominent figure in Indian politics who led a faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, was travelling to Baramati to attend a public meeting amid ongoing local elections in the state. Baramati has long been his political stronghold.
A veteran politician, Pawar was one of Maharashtra’s longest-serving deputy chief ministers, holding the post under multiple administrations across party lines. He was first elected to India’s lower house of parliament in 1991 before going on to win seven terms as a member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly.
In 2019, he triggered a major political realignment by splitting his party and briefly forming a government with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Last year, India’s election authorities formally recognised his faction as the official Nationalist Congress Party.
Pawar is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar, and their two sons.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi remembered Pawar as “leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect”.
”He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra,” Mr Modi wrote. ”His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti.”
India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh said he is deeply shocked and pained to learn about the untimely demise of Pawar.
“Throughout his long public life, he remained committed to the development and prosperity of Maharashtra. He was known for his compassion for the people and his unwavering dedication to public service. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, well-wishers, and admirers,” he wrote on X.
DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka, condoled his colleague’s demise and said: “Shocked and deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Maharashtra Deputy CM Shri Ajit Pawar in a tragic plane crash. His sudden demise is a great loss to public life and to Maharashtra politics, where he served with experience and resolve.”
The Pawar family, one of the most powerful in Indian politics with several members serving as lawmakers, was in Delhi for the budget session of parliament. The family was set to leave for Baramati following the news.
