AN32 Aircraft Crash: All 13 People on Board Dead, Confirms IAFJust In

June 13, 2019 10:33
AN32 Aircraft Crash: All 13 People on Board Dead, Confirms IAF

(Image source from: Outlook India)

All 13 people on board the AN-32 aircraft which crashed in Arunachal Pradesh are dead, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said after a team of rescuers searched the wreckage of the plane in a heavily forested mountainous terrain on Thursday.

An IAF official said there were no survivors from the crash of the AN-32 aircraft.

"IAF Pays tribute to the brave Air-warriors who lost their lives during the #An32 crash on 03 Jun 2019 and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace," an Indian Air Force (IAF) spokesperson said.

Those who died in the crash are Wing Commander G M Charles, Squadron Leader H Vinod, Flight Lieutenants L R Thapa, MK Garg, Ashish Tanwar and Sumit Mohanty, Warrant officer K K Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, LAC (leading aircraftman) S K Singh, LAC Pankaj, and non combatants Rajesh Kumar and Putali.

AN-32, the Russian-originaircraft was on its way to Menchuka advanced landing ground near the border with China from Jorhat in Assam to Menchuka on June 3 when it lost contact around half-an-hour after taking off.

The wreckage of the plane was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 ft near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts, after eight days of a massive search operation involving a fleet of aircraft and choppers as well as ground forces.  

A 15-member team of rescuers was sent look for survivors in the accident Wednesday and eight of them reached the crash site on Thursday morning, an IAF official said.

By Sowmya Sangam

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