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Pilot killed as India Air Force jets collide

An engine from one of the downed Indian Air Force jets.

An engine from one of the downed Indian Air Force jets. Photo: AAP

Two planes from an Indian Air Force aerobatics team crashed outside Yelahanka Air Force base, near Bangalore, while training for an airshow, killing one pilot and injuring two others.

Video footage of the incident on Wednesday (AEDT) shows the planes plummeting to the ground and rescuers attempting to comfort one of the injured pilots who had ejected.

IndianExpress.com reports the Surya Kiran aerobatics team was preparing for the biennial Aero India air show when two of the nine Hawk Mk 132 aircraft used by the team collided.

The planes were to open the air show.

The agency named the dead pilot as Squadron Leader Sahil Gandhi, a former Sukhoi-30 pilot, who flew as Surya Kiran 7 in the aerobatics team. It said he had a wife and young child.

It was the second deadly accident involving Indian Air Force aircraft this month, with a two-man trainer plane crashing in the southern city of Bengaluru.

india air force plane crash

Officials remove wreckage of one of the downed planes. Photo: Getty

india air force collision

Debris from the mid-air collision at Yelahanka air base. Photo: AAP

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