The two pilots of the Indian Air Force, who were martyred in an air crash on Thursday night hailed from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.
The IAF announced that Wing Commander M Rana, hailing from Mandi and Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal from Jammu, were in the ill-fated MiG 21 fighter jet that crashed on Thursday night near Barmer in southwest Rajasthan abutting Pakistan.
The plane was a trainer version of the Russian-origin fighter jet. A trainer version of the jet has two pilots.
The ill-fated jet had taken-off for a night-training sortie. It burst into flames mid-air and crashed to ground, leaving no time for the pilots to eject. The crash occurred at 9.10 pm.
The IAF had announced that the two pilots had died, their pictures and identification were released on Friday morning.
