New Delhi, June 13: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday confirmed the death of all 13 occupants of the IAF AN-32 aircraft which crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on June 3. The IAF also released a list of names of air--warriors who lost their lives in the AN-32 aircraft crash. The AN-32 aircraft had disappeared from the radar after taking off on June 3 from the Jorhat airbase in Assam. The plane was scheduled to land at the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh's Shi-Yomi district bordering China.

The IAF said a rescue team of eight members found no survivors after it reached the crash site today morning. Those who lost their lives have been identified as Wing Commander GM Charles, Squadron leader H Vinod, Flight lieutenant R Thapa, Flight lieutenant A Tanwar, Flight lieutenant S Mohanty, Flight lieutenant MK Garg, Warrant Officer KK Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, Lead Aircraft Man SK Singh, Lead Aircraft Man Pankaj, Non-combatant Employee Putali and Non-combatant Employee Rajesh Kumar.

"IAF Pays tribute to the brave Air-warriors who lost their life during the #An32 crash on 03 Jun 2019 and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace (sic)," said the IAF. On Tuesday, the IAF had spotted the wreckage of the missing AN-32 aircraft 16 km north of Lipo, northeast of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet with the help of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded area.

Subsequently, the IAF, Army and the civil administration of Arunachal Pradesh started a massive operation to reach the site where the AN-32 aircraft had crashed. A total of 15 mountaineers from IAF, Army and civilians were inducted successfully by Mi 17 with all the equipments on Wednesday morning near the crash site.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2019 01:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).