M A I N   N E W S

MiG crashes in Ambala, 13 hurt
Prabhjot Singh & Poonam Batth
Tribune News Service

Ambala, April 7
In less than 75 hours of a MiG-23 crash in a residential area of Mullanpur, near Ludhiana, killing five persons, another fighter aircraft, MiG-21 BIS, crashed in a populated area here this morning, leaving 13 persons injured, five of them seriously. It has again raised serious concerns about the training and safe operations of these guards of the Indian skies.

The pilot, Flt-Lt N Garg, of the ill-fated IAF MiG-21 BIS, which crashed within minutes of its taking off from the local airbase, was successful in ejecting before the aircraft hit a couple of trees and nosedived into an open space, bounced back and damaged two parallel rows of houses in Vita Milk Plant Colony on the Baldev Nagar road.

Ms Sita Devi, wife of Mr Gobind Singh, a cook in the adjoining milk plant and resident of the area, was among the seriously injured. The aircraft burst open into flames as its splinters flew all over the colony which has 10 single-storey houses. The black box of the ill-fated aircraft was located at an industrial unit manufacturing mixer grinders, about 500m from the site of the mishap.

More than 180 workers were at the Vita milk plant, which stores various gases, including ammonia, required to process and chill milk at the time of the crash. On the other side of the colony is Government Senior Secondary School which has about 500 students on its rolls. And a gurdwara built in memory of Baba Deep Singh also escaped the fury of the crash by less than 100m.

Two of the seriously injured women — Swaranjit Kaur (Patiala) and Roshni Devi (Ambala) — have been shifted to Chandigarh for admission to the PGI and the Sector 32 Government Medical College Hospital, respectively. Swaranjit Kaur was hit by a splinter in the head as she was crossing the Baldev Nagar road at the time of the crash. Mrs Roshni Devi, who was offering water to the sun, got 60 per cent burn injuries. Both are stated to be in a precarious condition.

The others seriously injured admitted to the Civil Hospital, Ambala, are Shankari Devi and Anil Kumar. Sita Devi was discharged after first-aid.

According to eyewitnesses, the crash occurred around 11.40 am, minutes after the aircraft was airborne. Mr Shingara Singh, an octogenarian living in the colony, said he saw the aircraft first hit an eucalyptus tree near his house and then its tail hit a “jamun” tree and then crashlanded in the open space adjoining the house of Mr Gobind Singh.

“I was perplexed. The entire colony shook as if it had been hit by a tremor. The windowpanes of my house and other houses were broken. Splinters flew all over and we all lay on the ground. The entire area went up in flames. Soon, the ambulance and police arrived,” he said as he sat motionless outside his house.

Mr Yogesh Kumar, 22-year-old son of Mr Gobind Singh, was sleeping in his house when the crash took place. He heard his mother shouting and asking him not to move but lie down as something had hit their house. “I crawled out and saw my mother bleeding as she had been hit by splinters. My aunt (tayee ji) was also injured,” he said, revealing that his father had left for the plant minutes before the accident.

Two scooters parked in the colony were also extensively damaged in the fire that followed the crash.

The Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr D.D. Gautam, and the Superintendent of Police, Mr H.S. Doon, who reached the spot, oversaw the rescue and relief operations. “All damaged houses would be repaired by the state government,” Mr Gautam said. Also present was Mr Jasbir Singh, MLA from Naggal.

The Air Force authorities have ordered the mandatory court of enquiry into the crash while the district administration, besides announcing free treatment for the victims, has ordered an assessment of loss to the property.