Mirage crashes in Morena, fate of pilot not known

Morena, Madhya Pradesh, Jan 24 (UNI) A Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force today crashed during a routine sortie near Bara village at Jaura block in this district of Madhya Pradesh.

In New Delhi, IAF spokesman Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani told UNI that the Mirage-2000 was on a routine night-flying mission when the accident occurred around 2030 hrs, 60 km west of Gwalior.

''The fate of the pilot is not known,'' he said, adding that search and rescue operations have been launched.

Air force sources here said the plane had taken off from from Gwalior's Maharajpur airbase.

On receiving information, a team of Air Force and police personnel had rushed to the spot. However, due to darkness it was proving difficult to find the debris of the aircraft.

This is the fourth incident of a Mirage crashing in the Gwalior-Chambal region in the past two years.

Earlier, Mirage planes had crashed at Gijora area in Gwalior district, Malanpur area in Bhind district and Paharganj area in Morena district.

UNI