Thousands of people, including IAF personnel, paid their last respects to flight lieutenant Advitiya Bal, who died in a MiG-21 trainee aircraft crash in Rajasthan's Barmer, during his last rites at his native place in Jammu on Saturday. Bal's mortal remains were brought home in this afternoon. Bal and wing commander M Rana were killed in the crash on Thursday.
Bal, 26, was a resident of Jinder Mehlu village - near the India-Pakistan border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district, while wing commander Mohit Rana hailed from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district.
Bal's family had reached Rajasthan on Friday to receive his body.
Bal's family had appealed to defence minister Rajnath Singh to immediately ground the Soviet-era fighter jets. “We appeal to the defence minister to immediately stop using MiG 21 fighter jets because they have already taken away so many lives. Please ground them immediately before another crash claims another life,” Bal's uncle Kamaljeet Bal said.
{{/usCountry}}Bal's family had appealed to defence minister Rajnath Singh to immediately ground the Soviet-era fighter jets. “We appeal to the defence minister to immediately stop using MiG 21 fighter jets because they have already taken away so many lives. Please ground them immediately before another crash claims another life,” Bal's uncle Kamaljeet Bal said.
{{/usCountry}}Also read: MiG-21 crash: Flyer shares experience of Flt Lt's family on IndiGo flight
The two pilots were killed when their twin-seater MiG-21 aircraft crashed during a training sortie near Barmer. According to the IAF, the accident took place around 9:10 pm as the aircraft was on a sortie from the Utarlai air base.
The IAF also expressed deep regret at the loss of lives and said that a court of inquiry has been ordered to probe the matter.
"IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families. A court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," it added.
Earlier, Rajnath Singh also spoke to Indian Air Force chief Air chief marshal VR Chaudhari on the crash of the fighter aircraft in Barmer. The air chief briefed him about the incident in detail.