The wreckage of the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s AN-32 aircraft, which went missing with 13 persons on board from the Menchuka airfield of Arunachal Pradesh at about 1:00 pm on Monday, is reportedly found near the Payum village in the state. Of the 13 passengers onboard, eight were crew while the remaining five were passengers. The aircraft lost contact with ground agencies after it took off from the Jorhat airbase in Assam around 12:25 pm this afternoon.
Following the disappearance, the Indian Air Force had deployed its Sukhoi-30 combat and C-130 special operation aircraft to locate the ‘missing plane’, as it did not reach the airfield on time. Apart from the special operation aircrafts, all other available resources were put on service to find the aircraft.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to IAF Vice Chief and Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria and prayed for the safety of all passengers on board.
Taking to Twitter Singh wrote, “Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board”.
In a similar incident, the Antonov An-32, had in July 2016, disappeared over the Bay of Bengal with 29 people onboard. At that time, the aircraft was out of the radar contact for about one hour after it took off from the Tambaram Air Force Station, Chennai. It was on its way to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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