Two Navy offciers die as glider crashes in Kochi

KOCHI: (Oct 04 HS): It turned out to be a black Sunday in Kochi as residents woke up to the news of a power glider of Indian Navy crashing near the BOT Bridge at 7.15 am. Both the crew members died on the spot. They have been identified as Lieutenant Rajiv Jha (39) and Petty Officer Sunil Kumar (29).

While Jha was from Dehradun, Kumar hailed from Bhoj in Bihar. The glider was on a routine training sortie when it developed technical glitch and crashed down. The glider and the staff belonged to INS Garuda, the naval air station of the Southern Naval Command.

The debris of the glider have been taken to the Southern Naval Command headquarters at Kochi and a board of inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy.