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One of the pilots, who was injured in the IAF Jaguar fighter jet crash in Gujarat’s Jamnagar district Wednesday night, was brought to the premier orthopaedic institute of the Indian Armed Forces in Pune’s Khadki Thursday for specialised treatment.
Group Captain Manish Kumar Singh, 43, Commanding Officer of 224 Squadron Jamnagar, fractured his right leg and suffered burn injuries after he ejected from the aircraft following the crash in the Suvarda village of the Jamnagar district.
Group Captain Singh had a compound fracture of the tibula or shinbone and fibula, which runs from the knee to the ankle, of the right leg, with burns and hypothyroidism. He was initially treated at GGH Jamnagar (Civil Hospital) on April 2, where he underwent debridement or the removal of dead or infected skin tissue and closure of open fracture of the right tibia.
The Military Hospital, Khadki, has a dedicated spinal cord injury centre, the only one in the Armed Forces that caters exclusively to spinal cord injuries. According to defence authorities, patients are referred to MH Khadki for specialised care and treatment since spinal cord injuries are relatively common in ejection injuries.
In a statement Thursday morning, the Indian Air Force said the pilots on a night mission experienced a “technical malfunction” in the aircraft before the crash Wednesday night. “An IAF Jaguar two-seater aircraft airborne from Jamnagar airfield crashed during a night mission. The pilots faced a technical malfunction and initiated ejection, avoiding harm to the airfield and local population,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately, one pilot succumbed to his injuries, while the other is receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Jamnagar. The IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” it added.
Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav, a resident of Majra Bhalkhi village in Haryana’s Rewari district, was killed in the crash.
