Pall of gloom at Wing Commander's home following death in air crash

A pall of gloom has descended at the residence of Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, a day after he was killed in a plane crash between Sukhoi-30MKI and Mirage-2000 aircraft in Madhya Pradesh.

Two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district on Saturday, resulting in the death of Wing Commander Sarathi while two other pilots ejected safely.

According to family sources, Sarathi's body is likely to be brought here at his home in Ganeshapur before noon today.

The family members and relatives were inconsolable with the untimely demise of Wing Commander Sarathi, an instructor at Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TAC-DE) in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior.

The 35-year-old pilot was the father of a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. The IAF officer comes from a defence background. Sarathi's father Revansiddappa Sarathi is a retired honorary captain and brother Praveen Sarathy is a serving Group Captain.