5 dead as plane crashes in Mumbai

Mumbai, June 28 Five people were killed when an aircraft on a test flight crashed in a crowded Mumbai suburb this afternoon, police said.

Those killed include two pilots and the same number of flight engineers on board, besides a pedestrian in the Ghatkopar area where it crashed, police said.

The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft, which took off from the Juhu airstrip, crashed in the Jagruti Nagar area of Ghatkopar, police said.

A group of officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) raced to the crash site for an examination, an authority said.

The police, fire brigade and disaster management groups rushed to the spot. Bodies of those killed were taken to the nearby Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar, an authority said.

A fire brigade official stated, "Our control room got a call at 1.15 pm educating a plane crash. Our jawans were immediately rushed at the site to launch the rescue operation.

Four fire engines and as many water tankers were rushed to douse the fire that happened after the plane crashed."

The police cordoned off the area, an authority said.