Parts of the Indian Air Force plane which went missing on June 3rd have been found in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
An Indian Air Force aircraft carrying air force personnel had gone missing after take-off from Assam, in India eight days ago.
The AN-32 aircraft took off from Jorhat airbase in Assam with six officers and seven other IAF personnel on board and lost contact with the ground 33 minutes later.
A massive search operation was initiated when the aircraft failed to reach its destination, Mechuka Advance Landing Ground (ALG).
The Indian Air Force on Tuesday said the Mi-17 helicopters had spotted the wreckage of the missing aircraft.
India Air Force said, ‘The wreckage of the missing AN-32 was spotted today 16 Kms North of Lipo, North East of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft, by the IAF Mi-17 Helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone’.
‘Efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupants & establish survivors. Further details will be communicated as the recovery actions progress,’ it added.
The Indian Air Force carried out a massive search operation and roped in spy planes and satellites like RISAT to locate the missing aircraft.
The IAF worked with the local agencies, Indian Army and Indian Navy to carry out the search and rescue operation.
While the wreckage has been spotted, the Air Force is yet to confirm the wellbeing of its 13 personnel who were onboard the missing AN-32.
The An-32 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft used extensively by the Indian Air Force for over four decades.
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