Two IAF Surya Kiran aircraft crash in Bengaluru (Lead)

Bengaluru, Feb 19 (IANS) Two Surya Kiran aircraft crashed after a mid-air collision while rehearsing near the Yelahanka airbase here on Tuesday. The airbase is where the 'Aero India 2019' air show begins on Wednesday.Police said one of the pilots was suspected to have died."Two Hawk aircraft of Surya Kiran Aerobatic Display Team crashed close to Yelahanka Air Force base at 11.50 a.m.," a Defence Ministry spokesperson said in a statement. The crash occurred on the outskirts of the air base in an open field. "Mid air crash at Yelahanka... One Indian Air Force pilot suspected dead. Two injured but out of danger," Karnataka Director General of Police and chief of Fire and Emergency Services M.N. Reddi tweeted. "Two pilots were airlifted soon after the crash," an airbase official told IANS earlier.
--IANS bha/mr