Two naval officers were killed after a power glider they were flying lost control due to a technical snag and crashed in Kochi on Sunday morning, said a spokesman of the Indian Navy.
The glider took off from the INS Garuda as part of a routine flying programme at 7 am and it developed a technical glitch and crashed near Thoppumpady 20 minutes later.
Lieutenant (Lt) Rajiv Jha (39) and petty officer Sunil Kumar (29) died in the crash, said the spokesman.
People, who were out on a morning walk, were eye-witness to the crash and informed the local police.
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A naval team rushed to the accident site and tried to shift Jha and Kumar to the naval hospital at INS Sanjeevani, but both succumbed to their injuries on the way.
“The officers were critically injured in the incident. They breathed their last on the way to the naval hospital. The Southern Naval Command has ordered a board of inquiry into the accident,” said the spokesman.
{{/usCountry}}“The officers were critically injured in the incident. They breathed their last on the way to the naval hospital. The Southern Naval Command has ordered a board of inquiry into the accident,” said the spokesman.
{{/usCountry}}He said both Jha and Kumar were experienced glider pilots and their sortie was part of a routine exercise.
The glider’s wreckage has been shifted to the naval base at Kochi. Lt Jha belonged to Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Kumar was from Bhoj in Bihar.
Another naval officer was also killed at Karwar in Karnataka while paragliding two days ago.
Fortunately, his co-rider was saved by local fishermen and he is undergoing treatment at a local hospital in Karwar.