At least six people dead as chartered plane crashes in busy Mumbai area

Mumbai, India — A small chartered plane crashed Thursday in a busy area of Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, killing at least six people including two on the ground, police said.

They said the plane hit an open area at a construction site for a multistory building in the Ghatkopar district, a crowded area with many residential apartments.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the fatalities included two pilots and two flight engineers on the aircraft. Police officer Ashok Shirsad said two people on the ground were also killed.

PTI said the 12-seat Beechcraft King Air C90 crashed after taking off on a test flight from Mumbai’s Juhu airstrip, which is used by small planes and is some distance from the city’s main airport.

Television images showed parts of the plane burning on the ground. Eight fire trucks rushed to the crash site.

Fire official R. Pawar said the bodies recovered from the wreckage were badly burned.

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an investigation into the crash. /vvp