Eyewitnesses at the site of the tragic plane crash in Baramati recounted chilling details of the moments when the charter aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar struck the ground and burst into flames, killing all five on board. Multiple people at the scene described seeing the small Learjet 45 plummet short of the runway before impact and then explode repeatedly in a fireball that was impossible to approach.
“I saw it with my own eyes. When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash, and it did. It then exploded,” one witness told news agency ANI, describing how the Learjet fell about 100 feet before reaching the runway threshold at Baramati airport. Moments after the initial blast, local residents said there were four to five more explosions as the wreckage burned fiercely.
People who rushed towards the burning aircraft in a desperate bid to help said they were forced to retreat because the fire was too intense. “More people came and tried to pull the passengers out, but since the fire was so huge, they could not help,” another eyewitness said, standing near thick plumes of black smoke that rose from scattered debris in the open field near the airport.
Visuals circulating online from the crash site showed flames engulfing large parts of the aircraft remains, with fire tenders, police teams and locals converging on the area soon after the impact. Authorities quickly cordoned off the area and emergency services worked to control the blaze, while shocked residents gathered at the site to watch the scene unfold.
The aircraft, registered VT-SSK and operated by a private charter firm, had left Mumbai and was bound for Baramati where Pawar was scheduled to attend political engagements ahead of local elections. Officials have confirmed there were no survivors, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
The eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture of a catastrophic accident that has left the Baramati community and the broader state in deep shock, with many still trying to process the sudden loss of a senior political leader in such violent circumstances.