Two Indian students die in flight training accident in Canada

Two Indian students have died in an air accident in Canada while undergoing flight training, the Consulate General of India in Vancouver said in an X post on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Manoj Sivakumar from Tamil nadu and Srisaran Thirugnanasambantham from Puducherry.

The consulate expressed condolences to their families and said it was ready to provide all possible consular assistance. This includes helping with the repatriation of the students' mortal remains to India. Further details about the accident were not immediately available. Canadian search and rescue services and law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation to establish what happened. The incident occurred during a flight-training exercise, although the exact circumstances surrounding the accident remain unclear.

Separately, Canadian broadcast media outlet CBC News reported a similar aircraft accident on Saturday, in which a Cessna 172 operated by Harv's Air, a flight school based in St Andrews, Manitoba, crashed near Kisbey, Saskatchewan, killing both people on board. The aircraft was carrying two licensed pilots on a night cross-country flight from Regina to Steinbach, Manitoba. They had planned to stop in Carlyle, Saskatchewan, during the journey, According to the outlet, the pilots had hired the aircraft as part of efforts to accumulate the flight hours needed for commercial pilot licences. Concern was raised after the aircraft did not reach its destination as expected. The incident was subsequently reported to Canada's Transportation Safety Board at around 10.30am Central Daylight Time.