NEW DELHI (AP) — A private plane carrying the deputy chief minister crashed in a clearing in western India on Wednesday, aviation authorities said, killing the official and four others on board. No one survived.
The plane was flying from India’s financial capital Mumbai to Ajit Pawar’s hometown of Baramati when it crashed and caught fire about 254 kilometers (159 miles) from Mumbai. It’s unclear what caused the crash. Television footage showed thick smoke billowing from the wreckage.
Pawar, 66, is the deputy chief minister of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. He was traveling to Baramati to contest local elections when the privately operated plane crashed.
Two of his staff and two crew members on board the medium-sized Learjet 45 aircraft also died, the General Administration of Civil Aviation said in a preliminary statement.
Pawar is a key figure in state politics, serving as Maharashtra’s second-highest elected official as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition in the state. He has considerable influence in the state’s sugar-producing areas and is known for his ability to mobilize rural voters.
Modi expressed his condolences and called Pawar a loyal public servant.
Modi said on
