Monday, December 19 2005 19:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Agra: A vintage fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force crashed near here today (Dec 19, 2005) shortly after take off killing its two occupants, the pilot and the navigator, police said.

Pilot Sq Ldr Berry and Flight Lt Anurag Sharma were on a routine flight on board the 1950 Canberra plane when it developed engine problem minutes after taking off from Thekkeria airfield near Jataura village this afternoon, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Krishna said.

The debris of the plane, alongwith the mutilated body parts of the two IAF personnel, was scattered over a one km square area near the village.

Eye witnesses said the plane caught fire and circled four times over the village before the pilot took it away to avert a major disaster on the ground.

There was no casualty or damage on the ground, he added.