Ajit Pawar death: Eyewitnesses describe Baramati plane crash horror

The plane had a total of five people on board - Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, with two more personnel and two crew members.

Updated on: Jan 28, 2026, 14:21:07 IST

By HT News Desk

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In a horrific turn of events, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's plane crash landed in Baramati on Wednesday, killing all five on board. Seconds after the ill-fated landing, multiple explosions and a massive fire was reported at an airport in the Pune city.

Videos of the plane crash showed billows of smoke rising from some of the burning wreckage of the plane, scattered across an open field. (PTI)

"I saw it with my eyes. This is really painful. When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash, and it did crash. It then exploded. There was a massive explosion," an eyewitness told news agency ANI, adding that after the crash and fire, at least four to five additional explosions were seen and heard at the crash site. Follow LIVE updates here

'More people came here, and they tried to pull the people out (of the aircraft). But since this was a huge fire, people could not help. Ajit Pawar was onboard and this is really painful for us," he added further.

“We live here and behind us there is an airstrip where we saw that a plane came and it did not land. It went further, but then it turned back in sometime and started landing. But then it crash landed just before the runway,” a resident staying near the airstrip told ANI.

The eyewitness added that as soon as they saw the crash, they rushed to inform the officials near the airstrip, after which police rushed to the crash site.

Also Read | Chilling CCTV clip shows moment Ajit Pawar's plane burst into flames

“They tried to extinguish the fire. After 15 minutes, they could douse the fire and when we went near, we saw a headless body lying there. It was completely burned and swollen. We could not identify it,” she said, adding that later the body was identified as Ajit Pawar.

The plane had a total of five people on board - Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, with two more personnel (one PSO and one attendant) and two crew members (pilot in-command and the first officer).

Videos of the plane crash showed billows of smoke rising from some of the burning wreckage of the plane, scattered across an open field.

Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware told Hindustan Times that the aircraft, VT SSK, was attempting landing and the aircraft went on the side of the runway and exploded on crashing. He said it was Lear Jet 45 and was chartered from Mumbai.

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