Defence PRO Satish Menon said the incident occurred at 11 am. The aircraft was on a regular combat exercise. He said the pilot, Flight Lieutenant S Dhir, successfully managed to bail out just before the crash.

“An IAF chopper was immediately sent to rescue the pilot. He was brought to the Jamnagar Air Base, where he was provided with medical aid and sent to the IAF Hospital for treatment,” said Menon. He said the pilot is now out of danger. He added a Case of Inquiry will be set up to establish the cause of the crash. An IAF team is trying to locate the wreckage from the Arabian Sea, he said.

A Defence spokesperson in New Delhi said that navy divers from the INS Valsura Base are being pressed into service to fish out the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder (black box) from the waters.