Twitter flooded with tribute for IAF air warriors as tragic news sinks in

Tributes poured in on social media for the 13 victims onboard the AN-32 aircraft, which crashed in a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh, after the IAF Thursday said there were no survivors from the mishap.

The Indian Air Force announced the tragic news on Twitter in the afternoon.

The IAF in one of its tweets, paid homage to the air warriors, who perished in the crash of the Russian-origin transport aircraft that had gone missing on June 3 after taking off from an airbase in Assam's Jorhat.

"IAF pays tribute to the brave air-warriors who lost their life during the #An32 crash on 03 Jun 2019 and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace," the IAF wrote on the microblogging site.

Soon tributes started pouting in on social media.

The Congress said the nation will always be indebted to the valour and service of the 13 air warriors.

"Our deepest condolences & tributes to the families of the brave @IAF_MCC members who lost their lives in the AN - 32 aircraft. The nation will always be indebted to their valour & service," the party tweeted.

"IAF AN 32 - no survivors ... RIP Hope that Indian team observes a 2 min silence today before the match & pay their tribute," tweeted @avmcwi.

India is slated to take on New Zealand in a match on Thursday in the ongoing cricket world cup in England.

"Heartfelt tribute to those air-warriors of India who observed martyrdom in An-32 crash," tweeted another user, @IsatyakP.

All 13 people on board the AN-32 aircraft are dead, the IAF said after a team of rescuers searched the wreckage of the plane in a heavily forested mountainous terrain on Thursday.

The wreckage was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 ft 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.

Flags of Honour foundation also took to Twitter to pay tribute to the victims and also shared a picture of an IAF aircraft in flight along with names of the 13 persons who died.

"Our heartfelt tributes to the 13 #Braveheart #AirWarriors who lost their lives in the #IndianAirForce AN 32 air crash at #ArunachalPradesh on 03 June 2019. #RememberAndNeverForget their service & sacrifice #ServingOurNation @IAF_MCC," it said.

Srinivas B V, Indian Youth Congress's national vice president, also paid his respect to them.

"An unfortunate and heartbreaking news. I pay my tribute to all 13 air warriors we lost at the An 32 crash. My deepest condolences to all family members and loved ones. May God give them strength in their time of grief," he tweeted.

Another Twitter user, @LawyerSoni, wrote, "#An32 @IAF_MCC Sad that there are no survivors from the crash of An32 on 3rd June. 13 #IAF have died. High #tribute."