GUWAHATI: Two pilots were killed after a Sukhoi‑30MKI fighter aircraft crashed during a training mission in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, the Indian Air Force said on Friday. The twin-engine jet had taken off from the air base at Jorhat — one of the IAF’s key forward bases in the northeast — on Thursday evening before it lost contact mid-flight. Defence PRO Lieutenant Colonel M Rawat said the last communication with the aircraft was recorded at 7.42pm. Soon after, radar contact was lost over the forested hills of Karbi Anglong, an area known for its difficult terrain and limited ground access. Local residents later reported hearing a loud explosion. Teams from the IAF, along with police, civil administration and villagers, launched a search through the night. After trekking through the hilly terrain, rescue personnel located the debris of the aircraft around 1am on Friday. “IAF acknowledges the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the Su-30 crash. All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” the force said in a statement posted on X. Officials said the aircraft had earlier been reported “overdue” after losing radar contact. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. The Sukhoi‑30MKI is a two-seater, long-range multirole fighter developed by Russia’s Sukhoi and produced in India under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It forms the backbone of the IAF’s combat fleet, with the force operating more than 260 aircraft.This is not the first such accident in recent years. According to news agency PTI, a Sukhoi fighter jet crashed in Maharashtra’s Nashik district in June 2024, while another Sukhoi‑30MKI went down near the Gwalior Airbase in January 2023 shortly after take-off.
