Indian fighter jet crash kills 5
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About 170 MiGs have crashed in the past decade, Indian officials say.
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CHANDIGARH, India (Reuters) -- At least five people were killed and two dozen injured when an Indian Air Force fighter jet crashed into three houses in a village in the northern state of Punjab, officials said.
The pilot bailed out safely from the Russian-designed MiG-23 fighter which was on a routine training mission when it hit the houses in Mullanpua, just missing a nearby school.
The single-seater plane crashed a short distance from where it had taken off at the Halwara Air Force Station, about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh, an air force spokesman said.
"Five bodies have been recovered from the debris so far and there are more underneath," deputy administrative commissioner Anuraag Aggarwal told Reuters. Three of the injured had severe burns while another had serious head injuries.
Rescuers planned to use cranes to lift the wreckage from the concrete houses that were reduced to rubble. Firemen fought for two hours to control a blaze caused by the crash.
The reason for the accident was not immediately known.
It was the third time since mid-2002 that an Indian combat jet has crashed into a residential area in the state.
Last July, a MiG-21 ploughed into houses in Jalandhar, killing seven people on the ground. In November, a British-made Jaguar crashed into houses in Ambala, killing four.
India's air force, the world's fourth largest, has come under criticism for a woeful safety record. Defense officials say at least 170 Russian-made MiG combat planes, the backbone of the air force, have been lost in accidents over the past decade.
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