New Delhi: An Indian Air Force fighter jet reportedly crashed in Kashmir’s Budgam district, in the Garend Kalan village, according to news reports.
Security forces are rushing to the spot, the reports said.
PTI quoted officials as saying that the jet broke into two and caught fire immediately, and one body was seen near the site crash.
The identity of the deceased could not be confirmed immediately, the officials said.
Several Kashmiri journalists also confirmed this information on Twitter.
Ahmad Ali Fayyaz, a senior journalist from the Valley, said that the Budgam district collector had confirmed the crash and said that the plane was either the army’s or the Indian Air Force’s. PTI and News18 reported that it was an IAF fighter jet.
DC Budgam confirmed to me crash of one helicopter at Garend, Budgam. She said it’s either from Army or IAF. It crashed accidentally. Preliminary reports say that the pilot died. pic.twitter.com/Jl88OKcotJ
— Ahmed Ali Fayyaz (@ahmedalifayyaz) February 27, 2019
Fayyaz and other locals, as well as News18, have said on Twitter that the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash. They also shared images of the pilot’s charred body.
Indian Aircraft crash near Gariend 6 kms Away from budgam main town pic.twitter.com/nlmb6jvFmw
— Yassar Yousuf (@YassarYousuf) February 27, 2019
Wednesday’s crash comes a day after the IAF conducted airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot. India has said that a terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammad was destroyed and a large number of terrorists were ‘eliminated’. Pakistan has denied this claim and said that there were no casualties. However, it also called India’s actions a “grave aggression”.
After the airstrikes, Pakistan reportedly violated ceasefire along the Line of Control, and there has firing from both sides since. Reports say that four civilians in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were killed in the firing.