IAF trainer aircraft crashes near Chennai; Pilots safe

An IAF trainer aircraft today crashed into a lake on the city outskirts during a routine training sortie but both the pilots ejected safely.The two-seater Kiran Mk II basic trainer aircraft, which had taken off from the Air Force Station at suburban Tambaram, plunged into the lake at Iyencheri village, about 30 km from here in neighbouring Kancheepuram district, around 11 AM, police said.The pilots ejected safely but one of them suffered injuries after he hit trees and lamp posts while descending and has been hospitalised, they said in Kancheepuram.Rescue workers pulled out broken parts of the aircraft from the depth of 20 feet in the lake."A court of inquiry has been ordered to find out the reasons for the crash," a Defence Ministry release said.