On Thursday, July 28th, a Mig 21 twin-seater trainer aircraft met with an accident in Barmer around 9:10 PM. This led to the deaths of two Indian Air Force pilots. A court of inquiry has been ordered to look into the matter, as the cause of the accident is, as yet, unknown. IAF has issued a statement noting that they are deeply anguished by the loss and that they stand with the bereaved families in sharing their grief.
The incident was first reported to the police authorities by the locals of Isramon ka Tala village when they saw a fireball crashing into the ground. The Baytu Police authorities looked into the matter and informed the media about the tragic incident.
Mr. Kailash Chaudhary, the Union Minister from Barmer has also stated that he is deeply saddened and has issued orders to inquire about the reasons behind this loss. Following the crash, Mr. Rajnath Singh (Défense Minister of india) has been in constant communication with Air Chief Marshal Mr. VR Chaudhari to get in-depth details of the incident. Since the induction of Mig 21 aircraft in the 1960s, around 200 accidents have been reported to date which is a matter of huge concern. The names of the pilots have still not been revealed by the authorities. It is surprising that since 2016 the total number of such accidents has climbed to forty-five, out of which twenty-nine belonged to the AIF platforms.