Mig 21 crashes, pilot suffers injuries
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

COOCH BEHAR (WB), JAN 18: A MIG 21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in flames late last night at a village in Cooch Behar district and broke up into three parts when it hit the ground, with the pilot suffering serious injuries after bailing out.

The police said the 23-year-old Flight Lt Srivastava was admitted to Tufanganj Hospital with severe injuries.

The fighter from the Hasimara Air Force base in North Bengal came down in a ball of fire, slammed into a school building and disintegrated into three portions. Part of the wreckage hit an adjacent building, while the rest were strewn over a one km radius in surrounding mustard and paddy fields nearby at Bajrapur village near the Assam-Bengal border, police said.

There was, however, no casualty on the ground, sources said. The reasons for the crash were not known.

The crash site was cordoned off by the police.

Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.