All resources deployed to locate missing IAF AN-32 aircraft: Parrikar

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said a lot of resources have been deployed to work to locate the Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft, which has been missing for five days now over the Bay of Bengal with 29 defence personnel on board and added that the Ministry is trying its best to find out leads.

"A lot of resources have been deployed to find the missing aircraft and we are also trying our best to find out leads. Till now all the leads were of no use, but we are trying to concentrate on some areas and trying to find out whether that can be used as some lead," Parrikar said to the media after paying homage to Kargil war heroes.

"We are not able to hear it as of now, so cannot say if it is operating," he added.

As the intensive search for the missing IAF's AN-32 plane with 29 people onboard entered the fourth day yesterday, a top Coast Guard official said no debris or survivors have been located yet.

The search operation for the missing AN32 aircraft, code named 'Operation Talash', continued in the Bay of Bengal for the fourth day on Monday.

An international safety network has been activated to alert the merchant ships passing by the zone of search operation to look out for any survivors or the debris.

The Andaman and Nicobar Command of the defence forces are keeping a watch for it even beyond the search zone.

As part of the procedure, a formal complaint about the missing aircraft has been registered with the Selaiyur police station in Chennai by the Air Force authorities.

India's largest ever search operation over the sea to trace the missing twin-engined aircraft is getting imageries of the search area from the ISRO through its radar imaging satellite RISAT.

The Indian Mission Control Centre of the space agency responsible for Satellite Aided Search and Rescue in the region is supplementing the operation by offering its services.

Seventeen naval and Coast Guard ships are mounting day-and-night watch and various military aircraft have made 28 sorties over the search zone till Sunday evening.

However, no clues on the whereabouts of the aircraft are yet known and the sharp lookout continues unabated.