Eight die as jet crashes

An Indian air force jet crashed into a bank building in north- western India today, starting a fire which killed at least eight people and injured 20.

The Soviet-made MiG-21 nosedived into the two-storey Bank of Rajasthan but the pilot and co-pilot baled out of the stricken aircraft.

"I saw the fighter jet roll over a couple of times before it hurtled down," said Sunil Malhotra, a software programmer who was standing on the balcony of his house. "I saw a blast in the sky and within 20 seconds, the plane fell. I saw the pilot and copilot parachuting down."

The rear portion of the plane burned up, he said, and the front crashed into the bank building, with parts hitting other buildings in Jullundur, in India's north-western Punjab state.