Family of missing warrant officer of AN-32 aircraft awaits news about him

KANPUR: After the authorities reported spotting the wreckage of IAF AN-32 transport aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, the family of Warrant Officer Kapilesh Mishra awaits news about him. Warrant Officer Kapilesh Kumar Mishra, hailing fr om Chaubiyana locality in Uttaripura in Bilhaur area of Kanpur, is among the crew of the missing IAF AN-32 aircraft.
The aircraft took off from Jorhat (Assam) on Monday and headed towards Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, but reportedly went missing. After taking off at 12.25 pm, it was last contacted by ground agencies at 1 pm after which the contact was lost. A total of 13 IAF crew members, including Kapilesh, were on the aircraft.
Kapilesh was living with his wife Usha and daughter Sneha at Jorhat. His brother Pramilesh, who is in a state of shock since the wreckage of the aircraft was spotted, hopes that his brother would return to their Chaubiyana home in Bilhaur. "We are praying for him day and night, and hope God will answer our prayers," Pramilesh told TOI. Rajesh Mishra, another brother of Kapilesh, said, "They came to know about the news of spotting of the wreckage of the aircraft through social media."
The IAF in a statement issued on Tuesday said that the wreckage of the missing AN-32 was spotted today 16 km North of Lipo, North East of Tato, at an approximate elevation of 12,000 foot by the IAF Mi-17 helicopter, undertaking search in the expanded search zone. The statement further read, "Efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupaants and establish survivors. Further details will be communicated as the recovery actions progress".