Guwahati: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed on Wednesday morning when his chartered Learjet 45 (registration VT-SSK) crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Baramati airport, officials confirmed.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that all five people on board, including Pawar, his personal security officer, an attendant, and two crew members, the pilot-in-command and first officer, lost their lives.
Footage from the crash site showed the wreckage scattered across the area, with smoke and flames rising from the debris.
Emergency response teams rushed to the scene immediately. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah contacted Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for updates on the crash, the state government said.
Pawar, 66, had attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in Mumbai on Tuesday.
He was traveling to Baramati to attend a public rally ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections in Pune.