The wreckage of the missing Indian Air Force aircraft AN 32 was spotted today by a Mi-17V5 helicopter close to 16 kilometres North of Lipo, North East of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft eight days after it went missing.
“The wreckage of the missing AN 32 was spotted today by the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone. Efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupants and establish survivors. Further details will be communicated as the recovery actions progress,” said a release from the Indian Air Force.
Immediately after the wreckage was spotted, other assets of the IAF were pressed into action for further search and rescue of the officers and passengers on board.
“After identification of the wreckage of AN 32 by Mi-17V5, the Cheetah of the IAF and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Army reached the crash site. Due to high elevation and dense forest, helicopters could not land next to the crash site. However, the nearest landing site was identified and the rescue operation by helicopters will commence Wednesday early morning. Ground forces will continue to reach the crash site during the night,” added the release.
This apart, the civil administration of Arunachal Pradesh has also formed ground search parties to help the Air Force and Indian Army to find the survivors of the crash.
“Mountaineering teams of IAF, Army and civilians are being formed now. They will be inducted tomorrow by means of helicopters to look for survivors,” said a senior official of the Indian Air Force.
Last Saturday, the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Marshal BS Dhanoa had reviewed the overall search and rescue operations (SAR) at a high-level meeting in Assam's Jorhat airbase.
He also interacted with families of the officers and airmen who were on board the aircraft.
The assets deployed for the operation included Sukhoi-30 aircraft in addition to a fleet of C-130J and AN-32 planes and Mi-17 and ALH helicopters while the ground forces included troops from the Army, Indo Tibetan Border Police and state police.
The IAF had also announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for providing credible information about the location of the missing aircraft.
The AN-32 with 13 people on board-eight officers and five passengers took off from the Jorhat air base around 12:25pm on June 3, 2019 and was headed for Mechuka – an advanced landing ground in Arunchal Pradesh closer to the Chinese border.
However, the aircraft lost contact with the radar and ground staff and did not reach the Mechuka air base at its scheduled landing time at 1pm.
