PESHAWAR: Two pilots of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were martyred on Tuesday as a training jet blew up during crash-landing at Bacha Khan International Airport, according to official sources.
"Pakistan Air Force reports with regret that a PAF FT-7PG trainer aircraft while recovering from a routine operational training mission crashed during landing at Peshawar air base. Rescue operation is in progress," the air force said in a statement after the incident.
The PAF has not yet confirmed the death of the two pilots.
Official sources said the aircraft crashed around 11:40am near the customs landing runway. It is believed that the plane crashed due to a technical fault.
An eye-witness said, "The pilots tried to save the nearby civilian population and steered the jet towards the runway but it blew up during crash-landing."
Smoke could be seen rising from the vicinity of the airport after the incident.
An emergency was declared at the airport after the incident. However, airport sources said the rescue staff managed to douse the flames and clear the runway.
APP