Body of second pilot of crashed Navy plane found (Roundup)

The body of Lt Abhinav Nagori, the co-pilot of the Indian Navy's Dornier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft that crashed into the Arabian Sea near Goa, was recovered on Friday, bringing to end the nearly three-day long search and rescue operations.

Nagori's body was recovered from the fuselage of the aircraft on Friday, hours after the body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat, an observer on the flight was recovered on Thursday night. Both bodies were taken to Goa.

"The fuselage of the aircraft had settled in soft mud of the sea bed, and divers had to spend several hours to find the bodies as there was no visibility," a Navy official said.

"It was a long exercise and the divers had to feel their way to find the bodies," the official said.

Navy officials added the bodies will be cremated as per the wishes of the families and the details are yet to be decided.

Shekhawat, who hailed from Haryana, is likely to be cremated on Sunday. Nagori is from Rajasthan.

The third crew member, pilot Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi, who was rescued by a passing fishermen's boat, is fine and recovering well, the officials said.

A board of inquiry was constituted on Wednesday to find the reasons behind the crash, the first for a Dornier since it was inducted into the Navy in the early 1990s.

The aircraft was from the 310 Naval Air Squadron based at INS Hansa near Dabolim in Goa, and was on a training sortie.

Communication with the aircraft was lost around 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, and it's last known position was 20 nautical miles south-southwest off Goa. The aircraft is believed to have crashed shortly after that.

Defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted on Friday that the cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft has also been recovered.

The Dornier-228 with three crew on board went down in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Goa on Tuesday night. A massive search and rescue operation was started involving at least 12 ships and several aircrafts.

Indian Navy operates 36 Dornier-228 aircraft for search and rescue, maritime surveillance and commuter duties.