New Delhi, June 4: The Indian Air Force’s missing AN-32 aircraft, that went missing on Monday, is still not located. According to latest update, the C-130J and ground patrols of the Indian Army are still carrying out search operations. On Monday, the transport aircraft of the IAF went missing after it took off from Assam's Jorhat airbase at 12.25 PM. The 13 people include eight crew members and five passengers. The IAF has deployed C-130J and AN-32 aircraft besides two Mi-17 choppers while the Indian Army has pressed into service advance light helicopters to locate the missing Antonov AN-32 aircraft. IAF AN-32 Aircraft Carrying 13 Persons On Board Reported Missing in Arunachal Pradesh After Taking Off From Jorhat Airbase.

According to details by IAF, the aircraft took off from Jorhat at 12.27 pm for the Menchuka advance landing ground in Shi-Yomi district in Arunachal Pradesh, and its last contact with the ground control was at 1 PM. The IAF is coordinating with the Indian Army as well as government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. The aircraft lost connection as it neared a hilly terrain in the Northeast. IAF MiG-27 Aircraft on Routine Mission Crashes. 

In its statement, the IAF said, some ground reports were received on possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far". In the wake of the incident, Defence  Minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to the vice chief of the force on steps to find the missing aircraft and was praying for the safety of all those on board. "Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours.

The disappearance of the AN-32 aircraft on Monday brought back agonising memories of another plane of the transport fleet going missing over the Bay of Bengal in 2016. The Russian-origin plane with 29 people on board had gone missing in June, three years ago, while flying from Chennai to Port Blair.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2019 08:28 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).