New Delhi, Jan. 28 -- Chief Ministers across the nation on Wednesday expressed shock and grief over the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a charter plane crash, describing his passing as an irreparable loss to public life and governance.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and his co-passengers died when the chartered aircraft they were travelling in crashed near the landing runway of the Baramati airport this Morning. Visuals from the site showed the plane engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing.

The small charter aircraft, with Pawar on board, took off from Mumbai around 8 am and crashed near Baramati airport during a landing attempt 45 minutes later this morning. ...