The deputy chief minister of India’s Maharashtra state, Ajit Pawar, died on Wednesday after the charter aircraft he was travelling in crashed, the country’s aviation regulator said. Four other people on board the aircraft were also killed.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew members were on board. “No person on board has survived,” the regulator said in an initial statement.
Media reports said Pawar was travelling to his home region to canvass in local body elections when the aircraft went down. The plane had departed from Mumbai and was headed to Baramati, around 250 kilometres away. Reports added that the aircraft attempted an emergency landing before the crash.
Video footage showed smoke rising from parts of the wreckage, which was scattered across an open field.
Pawar was part of the Maharashtra state government and backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He led a faction that split from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2023. He belonged to a prominent political family in the state.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sympathy with the families of those killed in the crash. In a post on X, he said: “Saddened by the tragic air crash in Baramati, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with all those who lost their loved ones in the crash.”
“Praying for strength and courage for the bereaved families in this moment of profound grief,” he added.