IAF AN-32 Plane Disappearance: Search Operation Enters Eighth Day, 7 Mountaineers Roped In
Out of the seven, two mountaineers have scaled Mount Everest. In Arunchal Pradesh, the administration of Siang district has announced a Rs 50,000 reward to motivate people and local villagers to search for the aircraft.
New Delhi, June 10: The Indian Air Force (IAF) continued the search for its missing AN-32 transport aircraft for the eight day on Monday. In its statement, the IAF informed that poor weather in the area was hampering the search operation for the missing aircraft. The latest to join the search and rescue operations are seven mountaineers. According to a report by Hindustan Times, out of the seven mountaineers, two who have scaled Mount Everest. In Arunachal Pradesh, the administration of Siang district has announced a Rs 50,000 reward to motivate people and local villagers to search for the aircraft. Missing IAF AN-32 Plane Had SOS Signal Unit That is Old and No Longer Produced.
On June 3, the transport aircraft with 13 people on board, went off the radar on June 3 after it took off from the Jorhat Airbase in Assam for Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in the West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. As soon as the plane disappeared from the radar, the IAF immediately launched a massive search operation to trace its whereabouts. IAF Missing AN-32 Aircraft Still Untraceable, No Wreckage Sighted So Far.
The ISRO has also used its RISAT satellite to trace the missing aircraft. However, so far, all efforts have failed to track the missing plane. The IAF has already deployed four Mi-17 choppers, three Advanced Light Helicopters, two Su-30 MKI, one C-130 transporter, two Cheetah helicopters and one Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to carry out the search. Meanwhile, the Long Range Maritime Reconnaisance aircraft P-8I of the Navy which took off from from INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu also joined the search and rescue operation.
Teams of Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, local police and other agencies involved in the search operations. On Saturday, the IAF announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on the location of the missing plane. "Finders may contact the Air Force on the following numbers - Landline: 0378-3222164, Mobile: 9436499477 / 9402077267 / 9402132477", an Indian Air Force statement said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2019 12:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).