New Delhi - A six-seater aircraft crashed in India's northern state of Punjab on Wednesday killing its pilot and co-pilot, news reports said.

The Kingair C-90 commuter aircraft belonging to the Punjab government crashed minutes after taking off near the Ludhiana city, some 80 kilometres north-west of state capital Ludhiana, the PTI news agency reported.

The pilots were the only people aboard the government aircraft, Ludhiana police chief RK Jaiswal told the news agency.

Officials said they would investigate the cause of the crash. (dpa)