No survivor in An-32 crash, says IAF

No survivor in An-32 crash, says IAF

Lipo: The AN-32 aircraft that went missing in Arunachal Pradesh on June 3 with 13 people onboard, the wreckage of which was spotted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Lipo, northeast of Tato in Arunachal Pradesh on June 11, 2019. (File Photo: IANS)

Payum: Mountaineers move towards the crash site of IAF

New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday said all the 13 occupants of An-32 aircraft that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on June 3 were dead.

"Eight members of the rescue team reached the crash site today (Thursday) morning. IAF is sad to inform that there are no survivors from the crash of An-32," the IAF tweeted.

"IAF pays tribute to the brave air warriors who lost their life in the crash and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace."

The IAF identified the dead as Wing Commander G.M. Charles, Squadron Leader H. Vinod, Flight Lts R. Thapa, A. Tanwar, S. Mohanty and M.K. Garg, Warrant Officer K.K. Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, Leading Aircrafts Man S.K. Singh and Pankaj, Non Combatant (Enrolled) Putali and Rajesh Kumar.

On Tuesday, the IAF spotted the missing plane's wreckage 16 km north of Lipo, northeast of Tato, at about 12,000 feet above sea level, with the help of an Mi-17 helicopter after eight days of search operation involving armed forces and police.

The An-32 took off on June 3 from the Jorhat airbase in Assam for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh's Shi-Yomi district bordering China, but lost contact with the ground agencies within 35 minutes.

--IANS

spk-rbe/mr/pcj

(This story was auto-published from a syndicated feed. No part of the story has been edited by The Quint.)