A glider of the Navy crashed near Mattancherry BOT bridge, located at a stone’s throw from the naval airport here on Sunday, resulting in the death of an officer and a sailor on board.
The power-hand glider which was on a routine training sortie crashed into the area opposite the walkway near the bridge around 7 a.m. There were not many people in the vicinity at the time, only those on morning walk and lorry drivers.
The crew were extracted from the debris and taken to INS Sanjivani, the hospital in the Southern Naval Command, official sources said. The deceased are Lieutenant Rajeev Jha, 39, a native of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and Sunil Kumar, Petty Officer (Electrical Air), 29, from Bhoj in Bihar. They were declared brought dead to the naval hospital.
The glider was attached to INS Garuda, the naval air station of the Southern Naval Command, Kochi. The crash occurred a while after take-off from the naval airport. Mr. Sunil Kumar was an experienced glider pilot, conducting instructional sortie for Lt. Rajeev Jha. A board of inquiry has been ordered by the Southern Naval Command to probe the reasons for the crash.
Lt. Jha’s wife and two children were staying with him in Kochi, while Mr. Sunil Kumar was unmarried.
Case registered
“The official statement of the Navy was recorded. The Harbour police registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the Cr.PC. An inquest was done and the bodies taken to the Ernakulam Medical College, Kalamassery, for post-mortem,” said G.D. Vijayakumar, Mattancherry Assistant Commissioner of Police.
