Raipur: Reports of a private aircraft crashing into a forest in Chhattisgarh seems to have been a hoax.
The Chhattisgarh government clarified on Monday that officials have found no evidence of a private plane crash in the Jashpur district of the state, as reported earlier.
Senior police and administrative teams are present at the site, the state government said.
While drone cameras are also being used for monitoring, the collector and senior superintendent of police have inspected the location, it added, as reported by The Economic Times.
“According to information received from the distric
t administration, reports of smoke rising were received on Monday afternoon from the Narayanpur area of the district. Collector Mr. Rohit Vyas and Senior Superintendent of Police Dr. Lal Umend Singh reached the spot and conducted an inspection,” the statement said.
Information is being gathered from local residents, the government said. “However, no villagers have reported hearing any explosion, and no evidence of a crash has been found so far, it added.
In the late afternoon, images of a low-flying private aircraft and dense smoke arising from a forested area of Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district was circulated online.
Reports in India Today, NDTV, Hindustan Times and other media outlets said that the aircraft crashed after hitting a tree on Monday.
Rescue teams reportedly rushed towards the spot, but details about the aircraft or its occupants remained unknown.
The crash reportedly occurred near the Ratanpahli forest, close to Khurasagarha village in the Narayanpur police station area.