An Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 transport aircraft, with 13 people, disappeared on Monday afternoon, about 35 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam, according to official sources.
The aircraft took off at 12:25 am from Jorhat’s IAF base and made a flight to Menchuka landing area in Arunachal Pradesh but lost contact with the control at 1 pm, official sources said.
Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours.
He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019
Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said he spoke with the deputy chief of the force and prayed for everyone’s safety on board.
A total of eight crew and five passengers are on board, sources said.
The Air Force of India has deployed all available resources to locate the aircraft, sources said. C-130 special operations aircraft and even Su-30MKI fighters participate in the searches.
