Five killed as chartered plane crashes in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, probe ordered

Five persons were killed when an aircraft on a test flight crashed in a crowded Mumbai suburb on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Those killed include two pilots and as many 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 team of officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rushed to the crash site for an investigation, an official said.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct a detailed probe into the crash.

"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct a detailed probe into the crash. A DGCA team is already on its way to the spot," Director General of Civil Aviation B S Bhullar told PTI.

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

A fire brigade official said, "Our control room got a call at 1.15 pm informing 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 occurred after the plane crashed."

The police cordoned off the area, an official said.

The chartered plane does not belong to the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government, as earlier speculated. 

UP Principal Secretary of Information Avnish Awasthi told news agency ANI that the plane was sold to Mumbai's UY Aviation after it met with an accident in Allahabad.

Visuals from the crash site: