Wreckage of missing Sukhoi-30 found, no trace of pilots

The wreckage of a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet that went missing on May 23 after taking off from Tezpur airbase in Assam has been found though there was yet no information about its two pilots, IAF sources said on Friday.

"The wreckage has been found close to the last known position of the aircraft at a place that has dense foliage," an India Air Force officer said.

A defence spokesman based in Tezpur said: "The weather is bad, as of now. Hence, it is difficult for the search teams to reach the wreckage spot."

The Su-30 warplane had taken off from the IAF's Tezpur air base, located 172 km from the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh around 9.30 a.m. on a routine training mission on Tuesday.

It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 a.m. near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.

Four ground parties of the Indian Air Force, nine of the Indian Army and two of the state administration were involved in the search operation, apart from a C-130 aircraft, advanced light helicopter and Chetak chopper.

Tezpur is one of the three IAF air bases in the country that host the Sukhois.

Last year, a Sukhoi-30MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam during a routine sortie. While the two pilots ejected safely, some locals suffered splinter injuries when the plane crashed.

--IANS

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