Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (66) and four others were killed when their aircraft crashed near Baramati in Pune district at 8.50 am on Wednesday, officials said.

According to a woman eyewitness, the ill-fated aircraft appeared "a bit unstable in the air" and exploded the moment it hit the ground.

"It took a round in the air, appeared a bit unstable and as it was approaching the runway to land, it hit the ground hard and exploded. There was a loud sound and could be heard at our home," she told a news channel.

She added that several parts of the aircraft were hurled into the air after the explosion and fell near her house. "The plane tilted before coming down. We saw the explosion and it was frightening," she said.

Another witness described the aircraft as seemingly losing control during its descent. "The way the plane was coming down, we felt it was going to crash. It was around 100 feet above the runway. As we rushed towards it, we saw flames, followed by four to five consecutive blasts, which prevented us from going anywhere near the aircraft," he told reporters.

"It was a major fire. We later learned that Pawar was on the aircraft. It was shocking for us," he added.

According to Flight Radar, the flight had taken off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. Pawar was travelling to Baramati to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 zilla parishad elections.

A police official confirmed that there were five people on board when the aircraft crashed. Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill said that after the crash, there was a fire. "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital," he added.