Two pilots were killed in Thursday’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crash in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district during a training mission, the Indian Air Force said on Friday.

The deceased pilots have been identified as squadron leader Anuj and flight lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar.

Purvesh, 28, hailed from Maharashtra. Media reports quoted his father Ravindra Duragkar saying that Purvesh was part of Operation Sindoor, which was launched on May 7, 2025, against Pakistan-based terror camps following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

The IAF, in an X post on Friday, said: “IAF acknowledges the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the Su-30 crash. All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences, and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.”

A government official told The Telegraph that the black box has been recovered and that it will take some time to go through the wreckage and recover the pilots’ mortal remains. He also said that a specialist IAF team reached the site on Friday.

The black box is crucial to ascertain the crash’s cause, as the device records cockpit voices and data. The device records and stores data such as aircraft parameters, pilot conversations, radio communications and cockpit ambient noise.

The ill-fated aircraft was part of a four-jet formation that took off from Jorhat, but went missing in the Kala Pahar area in Karbi Anglong district, prompting the launch of a search and rescue operation within hours.

An official said on Thursday night that villagers reported hearing a “loud sound followed by flames rising from a hillock” and that the affected site is far from human
habitation.