From correspondents in India, 10:01 PM IST

Two Zenith two-seater trainer planes were reduced to ashes when the container transporting the aircraft caught fire in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Wednesday.

According to police, the container carrying four planes caught fire after its upper portion touched a high tension overhead wire near Khurja bus stand near Shikarpur locality around 1.30 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire spread quickly and became intense within minutes.

The two planes on the upper deck of the container caught fire but the two on the lower deck were spared of destruction.

Both the driver and his associate fled the accident spot.

The aircraft were being transported from an aviation institute in Kanpur to a Meerut-based flying academy - Pankh Aviation.

Manish Thakur, the director of Pankh Academy, said: 'We had bought the two-seater trainers through an auction to train students in our academy.'

'The planes were not insured as they were being brought immediately after purchase. We intended to insure them once they reached the institute. Though we are evaluating the exact damage, each plane had cost us over Rs.2 crore,' Thakur said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)