The search for the missing AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) continued on Saturday with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar flying down to Tamil Nadu to personally monitor the operations but no trace of it was found till late evening.
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“We have not been able to locate debris or survivor in the seas”, he said.
The search operation is continuing on a 24-hour basis and all resources at disposal are being used.
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.
Parked Indian Air Force’s transport aircrafts Antonov An-32 (foreground) and Dornier Do 228 are seen from the air traffic control during a media tour at the Yelahanka Air Force Station ahead of Air Force Day on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, September 23, 2015.
The aircraft with 29 people onboard went off the radar on July 22nd morning over the Bay of Bengal half an hour after take off from Chennai on its journey to Port Blair. “The sea is very choppy and there is thick cloud cover in the area”, the official said. The search areas for each has been designated.
He said the next step would be to go in for underwater search after surface level searches, adding it was not very simple. “IAF authorities are in constant touch with the family members of the missing personnel and they are being regularly updated about the efforts being made to trace the missing aircraft and personnel”. Those on board were six crew members, 15 personnel from the IAF, Army, Navy and Coast Guard, and eight civilians. “We are going by the last known position which was there on the radar, which is about 151 nautical mile to east of Chennai”, he added.
“At sea, we have 13 Naval vessels, two Coast Guard ships; there have been about 12 air sorties involved in the search and rescue operation”, he said.
Amid criticism in some quarters about the existing over 100 AN 32 aircraft and how they have outrun their life, Raha sought to defend it saying in the last three decades of its operations, IAF has exploited the capabilities of this aircraft as the workhorse of the force.
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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.
