The plane left the Tambaram air base near Chennai at 8.30 am for Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands.
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The Indian Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba, meanwhile, said a total 250 hours of sorties have been flown in search of the plane, and all leads found are being followed. Five helicopters of the Navy are also available for the search and rescue operations in the vicinity. Coast Guard has rushed four ships to the spot besides two dorniers.
Air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee said the last communication from the plane was about 15 minutes after takeoff.
He said it can not be predicted how long the weather would last and informed that as of now, there is no headway in the search operations. The Navy, the Coast Guard, and the IAF have launched a joint search and rescue operation.
The IAF now operates more than 100 Antonov-32 aircraft, which can fly in all weather conditions for up to four hours without refuelling. “The complaint says that 29 personnel on board AN-32 and the aircraft have gone missing”.
“The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Chennai, has also passed on messages to the Merchant vessels transiting the area to keep a sharp lookout for any signs of missing aircraft”, said the official.
The last that the anxious relatives heard from Naik I.P.Vimal and Petty Officer Sajeev Kumar, who hail from Kozhikode, was that they are about to board the aircraft bound for Port Blair. The IAF remains committed to provide the best possible equipment and training to our personnel so that they can execute their assigned missions professionally.
He said AN-32 transport aircraft was inducted into the IAF between 1984-1991.
A total of 19 ships (13 from the Navy and six from the CG) and 12 aircraft (8 from the Navy and 2 each from the IAF and CG) are part of the operations.
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According to India’s state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), of 29 people onboard of the aircraft, 11 were Air Force personnel, two from Army, nine from Navy, one from Cost Guard and six crew members. “Because of its excellent operational performance, AN-32 has been landing at Daulat Beg Oldie, which is the highest landing ground in the world”.
