The plane with 29 people on board went missing near Chennai on Friday.
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The plane was last in contact at 23,000 feet. There were no distress signals from the pilot.
Banerjee said the last communication from the aircraft was about 15 minutes after take-off.
Defence Ministry sources said the search operations were continuing round the clock, despite hard monsoon weather conditions and poor visibility. Stating that a linear search was conducted side by side, he said, “We are picking up some items but they don’t belong to the aircraft”.
At least 16 ships, a submarine and six planes, including two P8i aircraft which can search in the dark, have already been deployed in the search. 29 people were onboard in the missing plane and their family members had started loosing hope for their loved ones.
The rest comprised 11 IAF, two army, nine naval and one coast-guard personnel.
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.
In a statement issued in New Delhi on Monday, Mr Raha said extensive operations have been launched to search for the missing aircraft and personnel.
According to Indian Coast Guard, an global safety network was activated as part of the search and rescue procedures for alerting the merchant ships passing through the region. “In addition, ships and aircraft from Andaman and Nicobar region are carrying out search in areas along the flight track from Chennai to Port Blair”, said a senior Indian Coast Guard official, based at the headquarters here.
The Russian-made Antonov AN-32, or AN-32 for short, is a twin-engine turboprop plane used for military transport with a range of about 1,550 miles. Because of its excellent operational performance, AN-32s have been landing at Daulat Beg Oldie, the highest landing ground in the world. Needless to say that capable aircrew are chosen to fly these aircraft.
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The government on Sunday assured the families of service personnel who were aboard the missing AN-32 aircraft that it stands by them in this hard hour.
