Jaguar fighter jet crash: Injured pilot shifted to premier military hospital in Kirkee

Pune: A pilot injured in the Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter plane crash in Jamnagar district of Gujarat on April 2 has been shifted to the Military Hospital in Kirkee in Pune.

The two-seater IAF Jaguar aircraft airborne from Jamnagar airfield had crashed during a night mission, killing Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav, while Group Captain Manish Kumar Singh (43) of 224 Squadron of the IAF in Jamnagar, sustained injuries.

“Diagnosed with a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in the right leg and having received flame burn injuries in the incident, Singh initially was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jamnagar but on Thursday was shifted to Military Hospital (MH), Kirkee. His condition is stable,” Army Medical Corps sources said.

MH Khadki is the premier orthopaedic institute of the armed forces. It is also the only centre in the armed forces catering exclusively to spinal cord injuries, they added.

Since spinal cord injuries are relatively common in ejection injuries, patients are referred to MH Khadki for specialised care and treatment, an official informed.

The fighter jet crashed at around 9.30 pm on Wednesday at an open field in Suvarda village, 12 km from Jamnagar city, and caught fire.

The Indian Air Force has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav (28), who was killed in the fighter jet crash, was cremated with full military honours at his native Majra Bhalkhi village in Haryana’s Rewari district on Friday.