Confusion over 'Chhattisgarh plane crash' as officials deny incident

Confusion spread over a widely reported plane crash in the Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh on Monday (April 20), with officials reportedly saying that there was “no evidence” of such a plane crash.

No evidence at site, say officials

“Teams from the police and the administration are present at the scene. We have not yet found any evidence of a plane crash," said Jashpur Collector Rohit Vyas,” as quoted by NDTV.

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Vyas further stated that air traffic controllers have denied any such crash taking place in the region.

Air traffic control denies incident

"We have also spoken with the air traffic controllers in both Jharkhand and Odisha. Jharkhand authorities have clarified that no aircraft linked to their control system was flying in that region in a manner that would have resulted in a loss of contact. Odisha, too, has preliminarily denied any loss of contact with such an aircraft," he added.

However, he also said that a definitive clarification on the incident is still awaited.

Initial reports claimed fatal crash

The statement comes soon after multiple media outlets reported the crash, stating that two pilots died after an aircraft crashed into a forest area in Chhattisgarh, adding that the plane went down after hitting a tree.

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Earlier, the NDTV report stated that the incident took place in the Ratanpahli forest near Khurasagarha village in the Narayanpur police station area.

The report further stated that the aircraft was flying at a low altitude, barely 30 feet above the ground, before it struck the tree and crashed.