An Indian Air Force MiG-21 combat jet crashed after take-off in the country's eastern state of West Bengal Friday but the pilot ejected to safety, officials said. "The aircraft crashed late Friday afternoon soon after take-off from the Bagdogra airbase, some 500 kilometres north of state capital Kolkata," an Indian Air Force (IAF) official said in New Delhi.
The pilot ejected safely after reporting trouble and the plane crashed seven kilometres away from the base. An IAF rescue team reached the accident site later and moved the pilot to a nearby hospital. "An inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the crash," the official said. This is the second crash of an IAF fighter in three days. A MiG-27 crashed near the Hashimara air base, also in West Bengal, on Tuesday.