Indian MiG-21 fighter jet crashes in disputed Kashmir
A Russian-built MiG-21 supersonic fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force has crashed in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, but the pilot and co-pilot ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.
Colonel Manish Kumar, an Indian military spokesman, said the military aircraft went down in a paddy field in Soibugh village of Budgam district, situated about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, at around noon on Monday.
"There is no casualty in this accident, neither on board nor on [the] ground," he pointed out.
Colonel S D Goswami, the spokesman for the Indian Army's Northern Command, said the pilot and co-pilot managed to eject safely "well in time," and they were later lifted from the crash site by an army helicopter.
Officials said the fighter aircraft had taken off from Srinagar airbase and was on a routine mission before the crash.
An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The development came a day after three pro-independence fighters were killed and an Indian military trooper was wounded in a fierce gun battle in Kashmir region.
The firefight broke out at the Zachaldara forest area of the Handwara sector in the Kupwara district, situated about 85 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of Srinagar, early on Sunday.
Pakistan and India have been engaged in hostility over Kashmir ever since their independence from the British rule and their partition in 1947. Both neighbors claim the region in full, but have partial control over it. Pakistan controls one third of Kashmir, with the remaining two thirds under India’s control.
The neighbors agreed on a ceasefire in 2003, and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.
Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir over the past two decades.
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