Wreckage of the chartered plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar lies mangled and burnt after the aircraft crashed during landing near Baramati airport, in Pune district, Maharashtra, on Wednesday. Photo: PTI
LIVE: Baramati plane crash: AAIB team begins probe; Pawar says no conspiracy
Ajit Pawar's funeral will take place on Thursday; PM Modi, Shah likely to attend
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, killed in a plane crash, will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati, Pune district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 am. Leaders cutting across the political spectrum will be present, the Nationalist Congress Party said. The plane crash occurred in the morning shortly after Ajit Pawar and four other persons took off from Mumbai.
Besides Pawar, his Personal Security Officer, an attendant, and two crew members (pilot in command and the first officer) were also killed.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha, and two sons, Parth and Jay.
The state government declared a public holiday on Wednesday and announced a three-day period of state mourning.
What happened in Baramati?
Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport. Pawar had left Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in Pune district on the day of the February 5 zilla parishad elections. An official said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team will visit the crash site and investigate the accident.
According to Flight Radar, the Learjet aircraft, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. The aircraft crashed at 8.50 am, a police official said.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a Rajya Sabha MP, and two sons, Parth and Jay. He was the nephew of Rajya Sabha MP and former Maharashtra CM Sharad Pawar.
Read updates below.
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