First Visuals: Sharad Pawar Arrives In Baramati After Ajit Pawar’s Death

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chief Sharad Pawar and his wife Pratibha Pawar arrived in Baramati earlier Wednesday following the demise of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a crash landing earlier in the day.An aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in the morning. The incident occurred around 08:48 IST during the landing phase. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that all five people on board — including Pawar, his security personnel and the two pilots — were killed in the crash.

'4-5 Explosions In Aircraft': Eye-Witness

According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am.An eyewitness who saw the crash said, "I saw it with my eyes. This is really painful. When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash, and it did crash. It then exploded. There was a massive explosion. After that, we rushed here and saw that the aircraft was on fire. There were 4-5 explosions in the aircraft again. More people came here, and they tried to pull the people out (of the aircraft). But since this was a huge fire, people could not help. Ajit Pawar was onboard and this is really painful for us. I can't describe it in words."Also Read: Who Were Captain Sumit Kapur and Co-Pilot Shambhavi Pathak? Crew Killed in Ajit Pawar Plane CrashThe tragedy has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political and administrative corridors. The 66-year-old leader was heading to his hometown of Baramati to take part in campaign events ahead of the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections.

Aircraft And Probe

VSR Aviation - the operator of the aircraft - maintained that the aircraft was fully serviceable and fit to fly, while adding that both pilots had substantial flying experience. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a comprehensive probe into the crash, examining weather and visibility at the time of landing, operational procedures and technical parameters of the flight.