MiG-21 fighter jet crashes, pilot missing

A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force has crashed in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh but it is unclear whether the pilot managed to eject from the jet on time and survived.

#SpotVisuals: MiG-21 Indian aircraft coming from Punjab's Pathankot has crashed in Patta Jattiyan in Jawali subdivision of Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district. Pilot is missing pic.twitter.com/C9Ih9Q0hU2

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2018

The fighter pilot of the MiG 21 Indian aircraft that crashed in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district has died. The aircraft had taken off from Punjab's Pathankot earlier today pic.twitter.com/AzOHfyYn0X

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2018

The accident took place on Wednesday around 1 pm.

A video shows the debris of the jet which took off from Pathankot, a frontline Indian Air Force base. Visuals from the site of the accident shows the wreckage of the aircraft engulfed in flames on a field.

This is the second Indian Air Force fighter jet crash in two months. In June, an Indian Air Force fighter-bomber crashed in Kutch, Gujrat soon after the take-off, killing the pilot.

The reason for Wednesday’s crash is still not known.

The MiG-21 BIS is on the oldest versions of the fighter in service. The Indian Air Force has been the world’s largest operator of the jet.