The father of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who died in the Tejas fighter jet crash yesterday, came to know about his son's death from YouTube. Syal, an Indian Air Force pilot, was flying the light combat aircraft at the Dubai Air Show when it crashed and burst into flames last evening. The IAF has confirmed the pilot's death in the Dubai tragedy.
Jagan Nath Syal, a retired school principal from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, was scrolling YouTube for videos of the event when he came across reports of the crash, reported The Indian Express.
The pilot had asked him to check his performance at the air show on television and YouTube, recalled the father. Last evening, he was scrolling videos of the air show on YouTube when he saw reports on the crash, he told the English daily.
He immediately dialled his daughter-in-law, who is also a Wing Commander in the Air Force. Soon after, some Air Force officers arrived at their house. It was when Syal realised that "something bad" had happened to his son. The officers didn't give a definite timeline for when his son's body would be brought back to India but hinted that the process could take two days, said the grieving father.
Namansh was an excellent student and had big dreams, he recalled. The pilot did his schooling at Army Public School and Sainik School in Himachal Pradesh. He cleared the NDA exam in 2009 and joined the defence forces.
The 34-year-old's death has left the family completely shattered, said his father.
The pilot's wife had been undergoing training in Kolkata, and his parents—Jagan Nath and Veena Syal—had come to their house in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, about two weeks ago from Patial Kad village in Kangra to look after their seven-year-old granddaughter, Aarya. His mother was not in a state to talk, said the father.
Speaking to news agency ANI, a relative said everyone in the village is grieving the pilot's death.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has condoled the death of "Kangra's brave son" as heartbreaking. The nation lost a courageous and valiant pilot, he said, bowing to his "indomitable bravery" and "dedication to national service." Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa is in contact with the Syal family.
