Deputy CM of India's Maharashtra killed in charter plane crash

Deputy Chief Minister of India's Maharashtra state, Ajit Pawar, and four other people died on Wednesday after a chartered aircraft carrying them crashed and caught fire, Indian media reported.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the aircraft was carrying Pawar, two members of his staff and two crew members. “No person on board has survived,” the regulator said in an initial statement.

Media reports said that Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to his home area of Baramati to campaign for local body elections when the crash occurred. The aircraft reportedly attempted an emergency landing near Baramati, around 250 kilometres from Mumbai, before going down.

Pawar belonged to one of Maharashtra’s most prominent political families and was a key ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state government.

In 2023, he led a breakaway faction from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition.

Videos from the crash site showed thick smoke rising from burning debris scattered across an open field.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident in a post on X.

“Saddened by the tragic air crash in Baramati, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with all those who lost their loved ones in the crash,” he wrote.

“Praying for strength and courage for the bereaved families in this moment of profound grief,” the prime minister added.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.