IAF’s Hawk aircraft crashes in Odisha, pilot safe

BARIPADA: A Hawk aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday crashed in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district during a routine training sortie after taking off from Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. The pilot managed to eject safely, police said. Eyewitnesses said the plane went up in flames after crashing on the banks of Subarnarekha river and its debris lay scattered at the site, police said. The incident occurred near Mahuladangiri under Saraskana block in Mayurbhanj district bordering Jharkhand, said inspector in-charge (IIC) of Jharpokharia police station, Sarat Kumar Mahalik.