Unidentified aircraft crashes in Punjab’s Bathinda, one farm labourer killed

The deceased has been identified as Govind, a native of Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, who was working as a farm labourer.

At least one person was killed and nine others sustained injuries after an unidentified aircraft crashed and went up in flames in Aklian Kalan village of Punjab’s Bathinda district in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Visuals from the crash site in Bathinda, Punjab, on Wednesday. (Sanjeev Kumar/ HT Photo)

The deceased has been identified as Govind, a native of Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, who was working as a farm labourer. There was no information about the pilot till this report was filed.

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The aircraft crashed into the harvested wheat fields, about 500mts away from the inhabited area, around 2 am. The crash site is about 20 km from the district headquarters.

Defence personnel and police teams cordoned off the crash site and fire tenders plunged into action at the scene. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT Photo)

District authorities are tight-lipped about the aircraft’s identity, stating that any comment on the incident will be issued only by the defence authorities. Defence personnel and police teams have cordoned off the crash site and fire tenders have been pressed into action.

Eyewitnesses in the village said they woke up to the loud sound of a crashing aircraft, which immediately caught fire.

“On spotting the burning aircraft, people rushed to rescue the pilots. As villagers were rushing towards the plane, it exploded and several of them were hurt. A few villagers sustained injuries from the fire and shrapnel of the burning aircraft,” a local said.

Eyewitnesses said they woke up to the loud sound of a crashing aircraft, which immediately caught fire. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT Photo)

The victim was rushed to the public health centre in Goniana, where he was declared dead on arrival. The injured were rushed to Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital, from where at least one was referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda.

Senior district officials are at the crash site and hospital, while police teams have been deployed at the district hospital.