Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five other persons were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Pune district on Wednesday morning, officials told PTI 

The crash landing of Mumbai-Baramati charter plane occurred at the runway threshold in Baramati. Pawar was onboard along with two more personnel (a personal security officer and an attendent) and two crew members 

Pawar was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the zilla parishad elections. A day earlier, he had attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by CM Devendra Fadnavis 

A large crowd of locals who had gathered to welcome him for the rally was left in shock and tears following the crash

Smoke and fire engulfed the crash site, revealing the devastating scale of the incident

Emergency teams battled the flames and carried out rescue operations after the crash, but it was later confirmed that there were no survivors on board

Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said, "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital"

As news of the crash spread, more locals rushed to the site, prompting authorities to clear the area

Wreckage seen scattered across the crash site

According to PTI, the aircraft pilot had mentioned about poor visibility near the runway, before the aircraft attempted the landing

A DGCA official examines the site following the tragic crash in Baramati

The Learjet 45 (LJ45), a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace, went off the runway while attempting to land at Baramati airport and burst into flames, PTI reported

Pawar (66), Maharashtra’s longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister, is survived by his wife Sunetra, a Rajya Sabha MP, and their sons Parth and Jay.