Rescuers find black box of AN-32 aircraft, search continues for bodies

A rescue team has recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) of Russian-origin AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force at the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh Friday, an IAF spokesman said.

Shillong-based IAF spokesman Ratnakar Singh said that despite inclement weather and treacherous terrain, the rescue team of Indian Air Force (IAF), Army and locals are trying their best to retrieve the bodies of the air warriors.

The Indian Air Force had said on Thursday that all 13 people on board the aircraft have died.

The Russian-origin AN-32 aircraft was going from Jorhat in Assam to Menchuka advanced landing ground near the border with China on June 3 when it lost contact around half-an-hour after taking off.

The process of recovering all the bodies on board the AN-32 is still on. Inclement weather condition with continuous downpour, besides hostile terrain, continues to hamper efforts for retrieving the bodies, the IAF spokesman said.

On Thursday, three more local mountaineers have joined the rescue mission, the spokesman said.

Siang district deputy commissioner Rajeev Takuk said the district administration has extended all possible help to the IAF to retrieve the bodies from the crash site.

The weather and the hostile terrain have posed great challenges to the rescue team, the DC said, adding the site of the crash is located in a steep gorge which is inaccessible.

The wreckage of the plane was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 feet near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts, after eight days of a massive search operation involving a fleet of aircraft and choppers as well as ground forces.

A 15-member team of rescuers was sent to look for survivors in the accident site on Wednesday and eight of them reached the place on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra have conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family members of the air warriors of the unfortunate IAF AN 32 aircraft which crashed on June 3 last in Arunachal mountain.