Three women and a child were killed and five persons injured after a MiG-23 fighter of the Indian Air Force crashed in a residential area in Mullanpur Dakha, Ludhiana, on Friday morning.

The jet fell on the house of a tractor mechanic, Bhola, and those killed belonged to his family. The pilot bailed out.

The injured, including four with about 90 per cent burns, have been taken to the Dayanand Medical College Hospital in Ludhiana, sources said.

The fighter crashed at about 1025 IST after taking off from the Halwara airbase on a routine sortie.