KOCHI: Two officers of the Indian Navy were killed when a motorized glider they were flying crashed here Sunday morning. The Kochi-based Southern Naval Command ordered an investigation into the incident.
The officers, Lt. Rajiv Jha, 39, and NCO (Electric Air) Sunil Kumar, 29, were on a routine training outing when the naval glider developed a fault and crashed near the Thoppumpady Bridge in the vicinity of the base. Naval of Kochi around 7.15. am Lieutenant Rajiv Jha is a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand and Sunil Kumar is from Bhoj in Bihar.
The glider took off from INS Garuda, Naval Air Station Southern Naval Command here, at 7am. People who went for a walk in the morning saw the glider crash and reported the port police. A Navy team rushed to the scene and transferred the two officers to INS Sanjeevani, the Navy hospital.
“The agents were seriously injured and were taken to INS Sanjeevini in ambulances. But they were pronounced dead, ”said Navy spokesman Sridhar Warrier. “The Southern Naval Command ordered a Board of Investigation into the incident,” said an official statement from the defense wing. The remains were rescued and taken to the naval base.
A witness told TNIE that Sunil Kumar was taken to the Navy Hospital in the Cochin Port ambulance, while Rajiv was taken in a Navy ambulance. “Neither of them moved while they were being taken to the hospital,” the witness said.
Meanwhile, a port police officer said the glider had some defects, which could have caused the accident. “We found the shattered remains of the glider when we got to the scene. It is up to the Navy to investigate and find out what went wrong with the glider. As far as we are concerned, there has been a case of unnatural death, ”said the officer. He said the bodies will be delivered Monday after the post-mortem examination.
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