Baramati, 24 January: Wednesday morning around 8:43 am, the Bombardier Learjet 45 crashed in a mountainous area near Baramati consisting of 5 people including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Vidhip Jadhav his security officer, a flight attendant Pinky Mali and two crew members Captain Sumit Kapoor and Captain Shambhavi Pathak, none of them survived. The plane was heading towards Baramati from Mumbai airport.
Large number of people have gathered around Baramati hospital, where the politician’s body is kept.
Aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu has stated according to preliminary information that due to low visibility at the Baramati airport the aircraft crashed. After many attempts the plane received its landing clearance but the air traffic control did not receive any response.
Experts from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are expected to reach the crash site to investigate what led to the accident.
Three days of official mourning has been declared the Maharashtra government, flags will fly at half-mast, government offices and schools will be closed. PM Modi and Home Minister will attend the funeral, where Ajit Pawar will be cremated at 11:00 local time on Thursday.
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