Siliguri: In yet another air crash involving Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, a trainer variant of the MiG 21 fighter jet crashed on November 14 morning after hitting a high tension wire and caught fire killing both the pilots.

The aircraft broke into pieces over an uninhabited area of a tea garden, 12 km from the Bagodgra air base while it was about to land after it flew for about 20 minutes on a routine training sortie, according to superintendent of police, Darjeeling, Sanjay Chander.

Chander said that the bodies of the pilots were charred beyond recognition. The pilots were identified as Wing Cdr Dogra and Flying Officer Chauhan.

There was no immediate report of any damage to any life or property on the ground, Chander said.

An IAF Spokesman Sqdn Ldr P K Dhingra said in Delhi that the crash occurred around 07:30 hours in the morning. He said a court of inquiry has been ordered into the mishap.

Dhingra said there was no report of any "significant damage" on the ground. The wreckage has also been located.

It was not immediately known whether the pilots tried to eject or bail out.

A total of 16 IAF fighters have crashed this year with 11 of them being MiG 21s, of which four were of the type that perished on November 14. IAF has about 40 MiG 21 trainers.

This is the second crash of an IAF aircraft this month after a Jaguar crashed near Ambala on November 5 in which 12 persons lost their lives.

PTI