Days after the wreckage of the AN-32 was spotted, the Indian Air Force has confirmed that there are no survivors among the 13 who were on board the aircraft, which crashed on June 3 in Arunachal Pradesh. An eight-member rescue team had reached the crash site on Thursday morning to search for survivors. The transport aircraft took off on June 3 at 12.25 pm from the Jorhat airbase in Assam for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh’s Shi-Yomi district, which borders China.
The aircraft, with 13 on board, had last contacted the ground sources at 1 pm. The wreckage was spotted on Tuesday in northern Arunachal Pradesh, at 16 km north of Lipo, northeast of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet. An IAF Mi-17 helicopter was used for the search operation. The IAF had initiated a massive search for the aircraft and resources from various agencies, including ISRO, were brought into the operation to enhance its effectiveness.
The IAF had deployed Indian Navy’s P8i aircraft, IAF’s C-130 aircraft, Mi-17 helicopters, Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) as well as Cheetah helicopters to conduct the aerial search operations. In addition to these, Indian Army’s ALH helicopters were also deployed. The IAF had tweeted that around 150 such aircraft and helicopters were engaged in the operation to locate the missing AN-32. Paying tribute to the air-warriors, IAF said it stands by with the families of the victims.
Following air-warriors lost their life in the tragic #An32 crash – W/C GM Charles, S/L H Vinod, F/L R Thapa, F/L A Tanwar, F/L S Mohanty, F/L MK Garg, WO KK Mishra, Sgt Anoop Kumar, Cpl Sherin, LAC SK Singh, LAC Pankaj, NC(E) Putali & NC(E) Rajesh Kumar.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 13, 2019
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