Four of the dead have been identified as Lajwanti, Bharat, Nirmal and Arati. The 16 injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital, and Military Hospital, Ambala Cantonment. While seven persons were admitted to Military Hospital, the rest were taken to the Civil Hospital. Seven persons who were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, include Manju, Shivani, Monu, Dinesh, Uday Raj, Ramesh Kumar and Brij Lal. Two persons, Sahil and Kailasho, were discharged after being administered first aid. Out of the seven admitted to the Military Hospital three are stated to be in serious condition with over 70 per cent burns.

Doctors said most of the injured had sustained burns besides suffering injuries. They added that some of the patients had suffered burns. A visit to the spot revealed that the two houses which had been hit by the aircraft had been extensively damaged. The aircraft seemed to have borrowed into the second house and the roof had collapsed over the wreckage. The debris of the aircraft could be spotted over a wide area.

The smouldering wreckage of the Jaguar could be seen inside the house. The rescue operations had been launched soon after the crash. The badly mutilated body of a person was lying near the crash site. The severity of the impact could be gauged from the damage to the houses and the extent of injuries on the dead person’s body.

Indian Air Force officials inspect the wreckage of the fighter jet. — Reuters photo

The house owner, Mr Nurari Lal, was desperate to ensure that the rescue operations could be speeded up so that his family members, trapped in the debris, could be rescued. But his daughter perished in the accident.

Before dusk began to fall, large JCB machines and a crane had been requisitioned to speed up the rescue operations. The crane tried to clear away the lintel of the house which was lying on the Jaguar wreckage but it was not able to hold the pressure and collapsed repeatedly. The rescuers had a tough task in clearing the debris.

Simultaneously, a heavy JCB machine was put into operation at the house which had been hit first by the fighter aircraft. There was urgency in the operation as a woman was said to be trapped in the debris. The JCB machine did clear the debris but the woman could not survive.

Col Tirath Ram (retd.), president of the Defence Enclave Welfare Association, said he heard a loud sound. “On hearing the sound I rushed out and saw that the aircraft had crashed into the houses. We immediately began rescue operation,” he said.

Senior officers, including the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Mr Maha Singh, the Inspector-General of Police, Ambala Range, Mr Alok Joshi, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.D. Gautam, and the Superintendent of Police, Mr Hardeep Singh Doon, were present on the spot to coordinate the rescue effort.

On September 9, a MiG-21, which took off from the Ambala Air Force Station, crashed into the paddy fields near Chour Mastpur village. The pilot of the fighter aircraft, Squadron Leader Rajat Nagia, ejected out of the aircraft.

Officials believe that after the pilot ejected, the aircraft facing technical trouble, careened towards the ground and crashed into the paddy fields. The high-speed MiG 21 travelled a few kilometres before crashing into the ground. In the Jaguar crash on May 9, Flying Officer Pallarwal was killed.

Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, MP, has expressed concern over the increase in air accidents in Ambala district. Mr Kataria said he talked to Union Defence Minister George Fernandes to express serious concern over the increased incidence of air accidents involving IAF aircraft.

A report from Delhi said the IAF already instituted an inquiry into the accident, which prima facie is attributed to a technical snag in the aircraft. The crash occurred 5 km from the airfield soon after take-off.