New Delhi: The wreckage of Indian Air Force (IAF)’s missing AN-32 aircraft was spotted Tuesday by a Mi17 helicopter 16 km north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh.
The aircraft went missing on 3 June while on a routine flight from Jorhat in Assam to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. There were 13 personnel on board.
On Tuesday, the IAF chopper spotted the wreckage north-east of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12,000 ft, the Air Force said in a statement on Twitter.
The wreckage of the missing #An32 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..
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 11, 2019
Sources said that teams have been sent to the wreckage spot, but there is no official word yet on the fate of the personnel on board.
Also read: There are 46 upgraded AN-32 aircraft, but none deployed in the Northeast
Search operation
The IAF, along with the Army, Navy and the local administration, had launched a massive search operation after the aircraft went missing, deploying several assets. Bad weather and thick forestation had hampered the operation until now.
A cash reward worth Rs 5 lakh was also announced by the IAF for information about the missing aircraft.
This was the first time that the IAF had announced such a reward to trace a missing aircraft within Indian territory.
Also read: Accident-prone AN-32 was designed way back in ’80s specifically for IAF’s unique demands