IAF Aircraft Crash: In a tragic incident, five Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel died after AN-32 aircraft crashed during landing at Assam's Jorhat airbase. As per the reports, the co-pilot has survived the tragedy and is currently undergoing treatment. While expressing grief in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the IAF stated that it stands firmly with the family members of the deceased.

"IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief," the Air Force said in its post. The five deceased personnel are Sqn Ldr Prashant Singh, Flt Lt Shubham Kumar, Sgt Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam. As per the reports, the aircraft was flying from Arunachal Pradesh to Jorhat when the accident occurred.

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As per the initial reports, the aircraft crashed within the premises of the air force. The aircraft caught massive fire immediately after the crash, leading to panic among the authorities. The emergency response team, upon receiving the information, immediately rushed to the scene and began the dousing operation.

The IAF confirmed the crash and stated that the situation is being closely assessed at the scene and further information will be provided as new facts emerge.

The Air Force has launched an official investigation to determine the cause of the accident. While describing the incident as unfortunate, former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Flight Operations Inspector Prashant Dhalla stated that multiple factors could have contributed to the tragic incident.

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"It's a very unfortunate accident. The AN-32 is a widely used aircraft in the Indian Air Force and is primarily used for the transport of cargo. The surprising part is that this crash has happened within the vicinity of the Jorhart Air Force Station base," Dhalla was quoted as saying by ANI

"According to me, there can be multiple factors. That is a matter for the investigation. However, there were heavy rains reported. Also, low cloud activity was reported at Jorhart. It can be a case of spatial disorientation, a technical error, a weather related phenomena which has led to this catastrophic accident," he added.

(Updates to follow)