Dispur, March 6: The Indian Air Force has confirmed the deaths of two officers following the crash of a Sukhoi-30MKI jet in the Chokihola region of Assam. The aircraft was performing a training mission when it went down in the Karbi Anglong district on Thursday night.
The deceased pilots have been identified as Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar. In a communication released at 1 am on Friday, the IAF declared that both men succumbed to injuries sustained during the impact.
Ground control lost communication with the two-seater multi-role fighter at 7:42 pm shortly after its takeoff from Jorhat. Search operations confirmed the site of the wreckage south of the airbase. An official inquiry into the technical or operational causes of the crash is now underway.
The IAF asserted that a dedicated team is working to piece together the timeline of the mission. The Su-30MKI is a staple of the Indian defense inventory, developed by Russian manufacturers and produced locally by HAL.
The air force currently maintains a fleet of over 260 such jets. Recent history has seen similar losses, with a Sukhoi fighter crashing in June 2024 and another incident involving a jet from the Gwalior airbase in January 2023.
