2 pilots killed in Ludhiana plane crash

A six-seater aircraft of the Punjab [ Images ] government crashed, killing its pilot and a co-pilot in Ludhiana district on Wednesday morning, police said.

"The C-90 aircraft had taken off from Chandigarh at 10:50 a.m. and crashed in Jugiana village before it could reach Sahnewal airport in Ludhiana," Ludhiana's police chief R K Jaiswal told PTI over phone.

Those killed have been identified as Manjit Singh Khokhar and co-pilot Dalip Singh Kataria, he said, adding they were the only two people on board the state government aircraft.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, Jaiswal said. Senior district officials had reached the site of the accident.