Remains of All 13 on Board AN-32 Retrieved, Rajnath Pays Tribute

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also met with the families and friends of the deceased personnel.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Rajnath Singh)

In a wreath-laying ceremony on Friday, 21 June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to five of the 13 air-warriors who lost their lives in the AN-32 crash in Arunachal Pradesh on 3 June, IANS reported.

Rajnath Singh at the wreath-laying ceremony on Friday.

After the ceremony, Singh tweeted, “They served the nation with confidence and courage. I salute their sacrifice in the line of duty.”

In another tweet, Singh added that he met with the families and friends of the deceased personnel.

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa was also present at the ceremony which was held at the Palam Technical area in Delhi, the report said.

After the ceremony on Friday, the mortal remains of one of the deceased personnel, AF Squadron leader H Vinod, were taken to Sulur, Coimbatore.

On Thursday, Air Marshal RD Mathur, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, had paid tribute to the Air Force personnel at a wreath-laying ceremony in Jorhat.

The IAF’s AN-32 aircraft had gone missing around Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Mechuka area with 13 persons on board on 3 June. The aircraft took off from Jorhat airbase at 12:25 pm and last made contact with ground sources at 1 pm the same day.

All 13 personnel aboard the Russian-made AN-32 perished in the crash.

IAF Retrieves Bodies of Personnel

The IAF on Thursday had completed the task of retrieving bodies of all its 13 personnel from the crash site of its AN-32 aircraft in the Pari mountains in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

They were then flown to Jorhat airport in Assam, PTI reported.

While six bodies were retrieved and airlifted to Aalo in West Siang around 5 pm on Wednesday, the remains of seven others were transported to the district headquarters around noon, Siang Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Takuk told PTI on Thursday.

“The mortal remains will (now) be sent to their hometown, where their funeral will be carried out as per service customs,” the IAF said on Thursday.

"The IAF stands with the families and next-of-kin of all the air-warriors who lost their lives in the line of duty," it added.

Efforts Halted Due to Weather

After tracing the wreckage on 11 June, a team of 15 mountaineers was air-dropped near the crash site the very next day to locate the bodies. Later, three more mountaineers had joined the team.

The IAF had to halt the operation to recover the mortal remains of its personnel midway on Wednesday after the weather turned inclement, Siang Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Takuk said.

The IAF, however, managed to complete the operation on Thursday after the weather conditions improved in the hills, Takuk added.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)