A Chhattisgarh government helicopter on Thursday evening crashed at state capital Raipur’s Swami Vivekananda airport killing the two pilots, the state government said in a statement.

The chopper was on a routine training sortie when the incident took place at about 9.10pm, the government said.

Raipur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prashant Agrawal said both pilots, Captain Gopal Krishna Panda and his co-pilot Captain AP Shrivastava died in the crash.

“Initial indications suggest technical malfunction as the cause of crash,” the government later said in a statement

“A detailed technical investigation at the behest of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and State Government shall be undertaken to ascertain the exact cause,” it added.

Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel condoled the death of the two pilots.

“Just got sad news about the state helicopter crashing at the airport in Raipur. In this tragic accident, both our pilots Captain Panda and Captain Srivastava passed away. May God give strength to their family members and peace to the departed souls,” the chief minister said in a tweet.

Government officials later said the crash will not disrupt flight operations and normal operations will continue.