A charter plane flying from Mumbai to Baramati crash-landed at 8:45 a.m. in Baramati, Maharashtra, with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on board, ANI reported. DGCA has confirmed that the NCP leader has tragically passed away in the fatal incident.

The incident occurred when the plane carrying NCP leader Pawar (66) and others was landing in Pune’s Baramati area, officials said.

Footage from the scene shows the plane’s mangled wreckage, with ambulances rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. Details on what caused the emergency landing attempt are still awaited.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was travelling to Baramati to address a public rally linked to the Zilla Parishad elections when the aircraft carrying him crashed, officials said.

Pawar had been in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and senior officials were also present at the meeting.

According to official information, there were five people on board the Learjet 45 aircraft at the time of the accident. These included Pawar, two accompanying personnel — a personal security officer and an attendant — and two crew members comprising the pilot-in-command and the first officer.