Indian Air Force AN-32 goes missing
Posted on: 22/Jul/2016 2:47:27 PM
A few hours after an Indian Air force (IAF) AN-32 transport plane with 29 military personnel took off from Chennai in the morning today, the Friday, it has gone missing. Airforce, Navy, and coast Guard in the Bay of Bengal had launched a massive search operation.
The plane departed from Tambaram air base near Chennai around 8.30 in the morning today. It left to Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands. It was supposed to get landed around 11.20 a.m. Navy spokesperson DK Sharma said the flight has gone missing. It will be called as an overdue for now.
The last contact with the flight was made around 15 minutes after the flight took off. This is a courier flight with service personnel carrying them to strategic islands near the Malacca Straits. The aircraft had six crews. The flight also carries an emergency beacon locator. In case of crash, this will get activated. So far, five surveillance aircrafts including Dornier are sent, and 13 ships are sent in full speed. Ranvijay, Kirch, Karmuk, Kuthar, Shakthi, Ghariyal, Sahyadri, Sukanya, Jyoti, Kora Rajput, and Kamotra are the ships sent.
A retired air force officer, Praful Bakshi said these aircrafts were very sturdy and strong. They mainly function to serve with supplying mountains and deserts.
