INDIA: Two pilots killed after an Indian Air Force vintage Canberra bomber crashes near Northern city of Agra

Record ID: 1382652

  • Title: INDIA: Two pilots killed after an Indian Air Force vintage Canberra bomber crashes near Northern city of Agra
  • Date: 20th December 2005
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (MARCH 28, 2011) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF A BUILDING A SIGNBOARD READING 'INTEGRATED CONFERENCE ON TIGER CONSERVATION' PEOPLE STANDING JAIRAM RAMESH, INDIA'S ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) JAIRAM RAMESH, INDIA'S ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, SAYING: "We used to say that in India there are only 1411 tigers but we have estimated that
  • Embargoed: 11th January 2006 11:54
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVABWAL5JJXYBAEJ9LUV3XE2WA5E
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: A Canberra bomber of the Indian Air Force crashed in northern India on Monday (December 19) killing two pilots. The plane caught fire and broke into pieces near Jithora village, about 30 kilometers from Agra city.
    "The accident took place at about 2 o'clock (afternoon). The two pilots Squadron Leader Berry and Flight Lieutenant Sharma have been killed. Now we are conducting search and salvage operations," said Rajiv Krishna, Senior Superintendent Of Police. Fire tenders battled to control the blaze.
    "There was a big noise after which it caught fire. The fire was at least 20 feet high. The pilots steered the plane to the outskirts of the village. Had they not done that, the village would have been destroyed," said Niranjan Singh, a villager. The Indian Air Force (IAF), the world's fourth largest, is among the few forces to still operate the vintage Canberra aircraft. The British origin twin engine-twin seater bomber was inducted into the IAF in 1957.
    The IAF has a poor safety record and about 170 MiGs, the mainstay of the force, have crashed in the past decade.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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