“Entire Eastern fleet engaged for a drawn out search operation but we haven’t been able to locate either debris or survivors, says Bargotra”.
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As the missing AN -32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on Friday, couldn’t be traced despite an uninterrupted and massive Search and Rescue Operation (SAR), senior officials on Monday were puzzled why the aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) hasn’t emitted a signal yet.
The officer expressed concern about the non-functioning of the ELT in such crash incidents over sea. Aircraft were launched by respective services to carry out a linear search. Of the people on board, six were crew members, eleven were personnel from the Indian Air Force, two were from the Indian Army and one person was from the Indian Coast Guard.
Though apprehensions grow over the fate of the missing IAF transport aircraft with 29 people on board, the search for the missing aircraft continues in the expanded area, announced the Coast Guard today. “Currently, the search is continuous”. “It has happened in the last couple of aircraft accidents over sea”.
On challenges being faced, Bargotra said the weather had been rough, but had improved since Sunday. “Even in the CG Dornier accident a year ago, the ELT did not operate. In none of them the ELT operated”, he said. “This will be taken up with the equipment manufacturer”, Bargotra added, without going into further details. Prior to that, there was another Dornier accident. He said the next step would be to go in for underwater search, adding that it would not be very simple.
This is the fourth day of search operations conducted by the coast guard, IAF and the Indian Navy.
Scientists at the Indian Space and Research Organisation were using satellites in the search, while the navy scoured an area of about 14,400 square nautical miles.
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Raha said radar contact with the aircraft was lost when the aircraft was east of Chennai at an approximate distance of 270km.
