ITANAGAR, June 12: A team comprising of Eastern Air Command SASO air marshal Sandeep Singh, group captain Vivek Ahluwallia and wing commander Dheraj Kumar and APEDA deputy director Somar Potom was air dropped near crash site by a MI-17 chopper. Nine of the 15 climbers of the team are from the IAF mountaineering team, four are from the Army and two are civilians. Some of the team members have reached the site, an agency reported.
The wreckage of AN-32 aircraft was located at a spot, 12-15 km off Gatte village, eastern part of Pari mountain ridge at an elevation of 11500 ft,in Payum circle located in the border of Shi Yomi and Siang districts on Tuesday. However, the fate of 13 IAF personnel who were on board was not known.
“After locating the crash site, a team comprising personnel from IAF, Army and civil mountaineers have been airlifted to a location close to the crash site,” ANI quoted Defence PRO wing commander Ratnakar Singh as saying.
As scheduled, the operation started at 6.30 am. “It is likely to take some time for the ground parties to reach the crash site. The area has thick vegetation and the tough terrain often prevents the ground search party from advancing,” a district administration official said.
The operation is being directed from a base set up at Kaying in West Siang district, a Govt official said. A doctor and other emergency services have been kept ready, and a back-up team is also on stand-by. The base hospital in Assam’s Jorhat town is also ready for medical emergencies, IAF officials said.
The transporter aircraft was heading to advance landing ground in Menchuka, 15-km off China border but went missing 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat on June 3. Soon after, IAF C-130J transport aircraft, Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, NAVY P8-I search aircraft and a fleet of IAF and Army helicopters had searched the plane for a week before parts of it were finally spotted. ISRO satellites and unmanned drones were also involved in the search operations. The IAF used two Mi-17s and an advanced light helicopter, the P8i — a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft from Tamil Nadu – for the search. The Army, Navy and ITBP) troops, supported by night-time sensors, worked through the night amid challenges of thick forests, inhospitable terrain and poor weather. Family members of the crew are waiting at Jorhat in Assam.
Highly patriotic Arunachalees worked tirelessly to help the IAF on the mission. Seven mountaineers including two Arunachal Everesters, joined the search on Sunday. Eastern Air Command air officer commanding-in-chief air marshal RD Mathur thanked the search team for their untiring efforts to locate the missing aircraft and conveyed his gratitude to state administration led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu for “unflinching support”.
The Soviet-designed An-32 twin engine turboprop transport aircraft has been used extensively by the IAF for over four decades. The heavily forested mountainous flying route is believed to be one of the world’s most inhospitable for air travel. (With inputs from Scroll+, DIPRO)
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