IAF AN-32 Crash: Six Bodies, Mortal Remains of Seven Air Warriors Recovered From Crash Site in Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi, June 20: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday informed that six bodies and seven mortal remains of air- warriors have been recovered from the crash site. The rescuers have been struggling against bad weather in the area to locate the bodies of people on board the ill-fated AN-32 aircraft that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier this month, the IAF informed that all the 13 occupants of the aircraft that crashed on June 3 were dead and no effort was being spared in ensuring expeditious transfer of their mortal remains to their parent base at Assam's Jorhat. AN-32 Plane Had SOS Signal Unit That is Old and No Longer Produced.

The wreckage of the missing AN-32 aircraft was spotted by the IAF 16 km north of Lipo, northeast of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet. The ill-fated aircraft was spotted with the help of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded area. After the disappearance of the aircraft, the IAF commenced extensive search operations. On June 8, the IAF announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any information leading to the location of the missing aircraft.

The IAF AN-32 transport aircraft 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. The personnel who lost their lives in the tragic crash were identified as Wing Commander G.M. Charles, Squadron Leader H. Vinod, Flight Lieutenant M.K. Garg, Flight Lieutenant S. Mohanty, Flight Lieutenant A. Tanwar, Flight Lieutenant R. Thapa, Warrant Officer K.K. Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sharin, Leading Aircraftman S.K. Singh, Leading Aircraftman Pankaj, NC(E) Putali and NC(E) Rajesh Kumar.