Glior: A Mirage fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force crashed in dense forest area of Barsota, about 75 kms from Glior today (Nov 9, 2004).

The fate of the pilot was not immediately known, official sources said.

The fighter aircraft, which had taken off from here on a routine sortie, caught fire and crashed around 9.00 A.M. on Gwalior-Morena border, the sources said.

A search team of IAF and police and an ambulance has been rushed to the spot, they said.

District Collector Rakesh Srivastava said the pilot Gururani is believed to have ejected safely.

He said the aircraft had taken off from the airbase here around 8.40 PM.