SARGODHA, Feb 15: A Pakistan Air Force jet crashed on Friday during its routine flight near Chak No.125 SB near Shaheenabad, around 28 kilometres away from Sargodha.

Police reached the spot immediately and found the body of the pilot Mohammad Azhar.

Reliable sources told Dawn that the Mirage aircraft crashed because of some technical faults at about 6.50pm in the fields near a village. The pilot, identified from his name plate, reportedly had been unable to eject out of the aircraft in time and died in the incident.

A helicopter shifted the body from the crash site. Authorities restricted people from coming near the spot.

A high-ranking police official on condition of anonymity confirmed the pilot’s death.

AP adds: The French-made Mirage aircraft went down near the town of Sargodha, where the air force has a base, said Cmdr. Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan. It was not clear what caused the accident, he said.