IAF jet crashes in Dzongu

Singhik in the foreground and smoke from the Jaguar jet crash site across the Teesta in the Leek forest range in the background. The pilot was the sole occupant of the single-seater fighter jet and ejected from the ill-fated jet in time. He has reportedly sustained grievous injuries, but has been rescued from the area and was being rushed to medical assistance at the time of going to print. [foto courtesy: DEEPAK SHARMA]

PILOT EJECTS IN TIME, RESCUED BUT IN SERIOUS CONDITION
GANGTOK, 30 Nov: With rumours of UFO sightings in North Sikkim getting uncannily frequent, reports of parachute floating in the high skies may not have convinced many; however, in a first of its kind incident in Sikkim, an Indian Air Force jet crashed into the forests of Dzongu this afternoon creating quite a spectacle and a small fire as well.
At around 1:15 PM the Jaguar jet, as later confirmed by Army officials, crashed into the Leek forest range off Singhik across the Teesta in Dzongu.
As per villager accounts, they heard a loud crash and even saw the pilot coming down in the chute. The pilot, Lieutenant Yogendra Kumar, sensing something wrong with the jet and that it was going down, ejected just in time. The aircraft was identified by army officials as a single-seater Jaguar. There were apprehensions earlier that there could have been more pilots in the jet.
The villagers were the first to reach the spot even though the 27 Mountain Division based in North Sikkim, along with the police and the district administration put together a relief and rescue mission to rescue the pilot and salvage the aircraft remains. The terrain created some problems as there is no direct route to the Leek forest range.
Meanwhile, two hours after the crash, at around 3 PM, the pilot was located though in a serious condition.
An Air Force base is located at Bagdogra and the IAF dispatched two helicopters to the rescue mission. The jet is believed to have been on an exercise maneuver here and had taken off from Bagdogra.
There were efforts to land a chopper at the playground of Leek school but this proved impossible and till late evening the rescue personnel were attempting to get the pilot across by road to some medical assistance. Rescue personnel from Chungthang, Rangrang and Mangan are informed to have reached the spot for assistance along with district officials.
Air Force officials at the Bagdogra base were in no position to provide any information at all about the crash and share it with the press.