- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash, along with four others
- The plane fell 100 feet before reaching the runway and exploded on impact, an eyewitness said
- Eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions and a massive fire after the crash
Minutes before the plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed, killing him and four others, it was flying towards the runway and fell 100 feet before approaching it, an eyewitness said.
"When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash and it did. It then exploded and burst into a massive fire. 4-5 more explosions followed," the eyewitness said.
The eyewitness added that locals rushed to the spot on seeing the plane crashing and erupting into flames. "People came and tried to pull out passengers from the aircraft. Due to the huge fire, they could not help," he said.
As news of Pawar's death in the Learjet 45 crash spread, a wave of mourning followed as his political colleagues, party workers and well-wishers were seen breaking into tears. While former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was unable to issue a statement as he cried uncontrollably, his cousin and NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule wrote in a post, "Devastated".
The plane crashed around an hour after the plane took off from Mumbai with Pawar, two crew members, an attendant and a personal security office on board. It reportedly lost control at the time of landing.
