MiG 29K jet crashes into sea; 1 pilot rescued, search on for another

A MiG-29K trainer aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed into the Arabian sea on Thursday evening following which one pilot went missing while another was rescued, navy officials said on Friday.

The incident took place at around 5 pm, they said.

"One pilot has been rescued and search by air and surface units is in progress for the second pilot," said an official.

The navy has deployed surveillance aircraft and ships to locate the missing pilot.

Sources said the Russian-origin jet had taken off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

A high-level inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident, the officials said.

The INS Vikramaditya was part of the recent Malabar exercise involving the navies of India, the US, Australia and Japan.

The Indian Navy has a fleet of around 40 MiG-29K fighter jets and some of them operate from the aircraft carrier.