'I Saw It With My Eyes': Eyewitness Says 'Massive Explosions' Followed Ajit Pawar’s Plane Crash

Last Updated:January 28, 2026, 10:51 IST

Visuals from the crash site showed fire and smoke with mangled remains of the aircraft scattered across the area.

The aircraft crashed around the Baramati airport, an hour after taking off from Mumbai. (PTI Image)

An eyewitness to the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar described watching the aircraft descend and explode in a series of massive blasts that prevented rescuers from saving those on board.

“I saw it with my eyes. This is really painful. When the aircraft descended, it seemed it would crash, and it did crash. It then exploded. There was a massive explosion," the eyewitness said, recounting the horrific moments as the plane came down near Baramati airport Tuesday morning.

“After that, we rushed here and saw that the aircraft was on fire. There were 4-5 explosions in the aircraft again. More people came here, and they tried to pull the people out (of the aircraft). But since this was a huge fire, people could not help," the witness added.

“Ajit Pawar was onboard and this is really painful for us. I can’t describe it in words," the witness said.

The small aircraft, carrying Ajit Pawar and four others including pilots and security personnel, took off from Mumbai around 8 am and crashed approximately 45 minutes later during a landing attempt at Baramati. All five people on board died in the crash. The 66-year-old NCP chief was traveling to attend public meetings ahead of local body polls when the tragedy occurred.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Ajit Pawar’s death, describing him as a leader deeply connected to the grassroots.

“Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra," PM Modi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding, “His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti."

Visuals from the crash site showed fire and smoke with mangled remains of the aircraft scattered across the area. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.

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