A technician has died after being sucked in to a plane engine at Mumbai Airport, it has been reported.
The technician, who worked for Air India, died at around 9pm local time when he was working on the plane that was due to fly from Mumbai to Hyderabad.
The plane was "pushing back" from the gate to begin its taxiing to the runway when the accident happened, The Times Of India reported.
Ashwani Lohani, the chairman and director of Air India said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport this evening when an Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619. The incident is being investigated.
"Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident.”
An Air India flight on the tarmac at Mumbai in 2011
The victim was named locally as Ravi Subramanian.
Lohani told The Indian Express: "The flight was already boarded. It was ready for take off. While it was pushing back to come on the air strip, he was working on ground. His body got entangled in the engine."
An airport official told The Hindustan Times: "The body is still stuck in the engine, efforts are going on to retrieve it."
The paper quoted a "source" within Air India who said: "At the moment, we are absolutely clueless on how this person was near the aircraft.
"Only an inquiry can establish whose negligence it was and whether the engine should have been switched on at that time."