Wreckage of missing An-32 aircraft spotted in Arunachal (3rd Lead)

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Tuesday that it has spotted the wreckage of the AN-32 aircraft which went missing in Arunachal Pradesh on June 3 with 13 people onboard.

"The wreckage of the missing An-32 transporter aircraft has been spotted at Lipo, northeast of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet by the IAF Mi17 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh told IANS.

"Our next effort is to get to the wreckage site to establish the status of the occupants and search for the black box and CVR of the ill-fated aircraft with tail number K-2752," Singh said.

On June 3, the Russian-origin An-32 trasnporter took off from Assam's Jorhat at 12.27 p.m. for the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh's Shi-Yomi district bordering China. The aircraft lost contact with the ground staff at 1.30 p.m.

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal R.D. Mathur is monitoring the search and rescue operations.

On June 8, the IAF announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any information leading to the location of the missing aircraft.

To locate the aircraft, Mi-17 helocopters, Advanced Light Helicopters, SU-30 MKI, C130 and Army UAV were pressed into service.

The Indian Navy's Long Range Maritime reconnaissance aircraft P-8I and satellites were also used.

Besides, teams of the Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), local police and other agencies were involved in the search operations on the ground level from the day the aircraft went missing.

--IANS

rrk/rbe/ksk/arm