Fire and heavy wreckage were seen in Maharashtra’s Baramati on Tuesday morning after a private plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed during an emergency landing attempt. Pawar and four others on board were killed in the accident.

The crash took place around 9 am, nearly an hour after the Learjet 45 aircraft took off from Mumbai.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that five people lost their lives in the crash. Those killed include Pawar, two pilots, one cabin attendant, and Pawar’s personal security officer.

Visuals from the site showed the aircraft completely mangled, with smoke rising from the wreckage. Police, emergency teams, and other officials were seen at the spot, while locals gathered nearby.

At the time of the incident, Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to attend a public meeting. His visit was part of campaigning activities as elections to the Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis are currently underway in the state.

In October 2024, a helicopter that was supposed to pick up NCP leader Sunil Tatkare crashed in Pune. There have also been past reports of emergency landings in the region due to bad weather.

Ajit Pawar was one of Maharashtra’s longest-serving Deputy Chief Ministers, holding the post multiple times under different chief ministers, including Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde.

He entered Parliament in 1991 after winning the Lok Sabha election from the Baramati constituency. Later, he vacated the seat for his uncle Sharad Pawar. Pawar went on to win the Baramati Assembly seat seven times between 1991 and 2014.

In November 2019, Pawar led a split in the Nationalist Congress Party and joined a BJP-led government as Deputy Chief Minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the faction led by him.

Ajit Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar and their two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.

The DGCA and other authorities are continuing formal procedures related to the crash.