Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra in India, has died in a plane crash. Four others with him were also killed in the incident.
According to the Indian news agency PTI, the accident occurred on Wednesday morning during an emergency landing at the airport in Baramati in Pune district of Maharashtra, reports NDTV.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that on Wednesday morning, a chartered aircraft crash-landed at Baramati Airport, killing all five people on board, including Ajit Pawar.
The DGCA added that the Learjet-45 aircraft, operated by VSR, was attempting to land at Baramati Airport when it lost control and crashed.
Ajit Pawar was a well-known and influential leader in Maharashtra politics. He served as deputy chief minister six times under different governments.
The 66-year-old leader was the nephew of veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. Ajit Pawar is survived by his wife, Sunetra, and sons Parth and Jay.