NEW DELHI

Two Indian air force pilots were killed after a MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed in the northern state of Rajasthan Thursday night, a statement said.

"At 9:10 pm(IST) this evening, an IAF(Indian Air Force) MiG 21 trainer aircraft met with an accident in the western sector during a training sortie," the air force said in the statement. "Both pilots sustained fatal injuries."

An inquiry has been ordered to learn the cause of the accident, the statement said, regretting the loss of lives.

In recent years, there have been a number of incidents involving the Russian-made MiG-21, dubbed as the "flying coffin," in India.