IAF airdrops 8-10 personnel to look for An-32 crash survivors in Arunachal
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has started with its operations to look for survivors in the wreckage of the missing An-32 that was spotted in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.
In Short
- IAF has started with the rigorous rescue operations to look for survivors of the An-32 crash
- IAF has airdropped 8-10 personnel near the crash site in Arunachal
- The crashed An-32 was carrying 13 passengers on June 3 when it went missing
A day after wreckage of the missing An-32 was spotted in the dense forests of a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh; IAF started with its rescue operations on Wednesday morning and have now airdropped a group of personnel near the crash site.
According to sources, IAF has successfully airdropped 8-10 personnel near the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh's Lipo in two helicopter sorties.
#WATCH: Indian Air Force (IAF) continues search operation in the area where wreckage of missing AN-32 aircraft was found yesterday. #ArunachalPradesh pic.twitter.com/yoAMGg5ORk ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019
A team of 15 men, nine Air Force and six mountaineers and Army carrying out the search, sources have told India Today TV. 15 mountaineers have been inducted by Mi-17s & ALH, with all equipment - 9 from IAF mountaineering team, 4 from Army and 2 civilian mountaineers.
The mountaineers are yet to reach the An-32 crash site due to inclement weather and rough terrain. The team will be camping overnight due to difficult terrain and weather and will close in on the crash site tomorrow.
Rescue update of #AN32Aircraft : 15 mountaineers have been inducted by Mi-17s&ALH with all equipment. They are yet to reach the crash site due to inclement weather&terrain. Team will be camping overnight due to difficult terrain&weather; will close in to the crash site tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/66O6kYx5VM ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019
More people are expected to join the first team once a base camp is established close to the crash site. Mi17s and Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) of the Indian Army have been pressed into action for the rescue operations.
Defence PRO, Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh: After having located the crash site,a team comprising personnel from IAF, Army and civil mountaineers have been airlifted to a location close to the crash site. #AN32Aircraft ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019
Ground forces have been continuing with their attempts to reach the crash site 16 kms North of Lipo in Arunachal.
Images from the wreckage site of the An-32 aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh show how close the plane was to clearing the hill but could not. The crash could have resulted from the low visibility created by a cloud cover.
On Wednesday, a team was airlifted to a location close to the crash site.
Despite having identified the wreckage of the An-32 in the afternoon, the Cheetah helicopter and an ALH chopper that were conducting the searches on Tuesday could not land at the crash site due to high elevation and dense forest.
Thirteen passengers were onboard the IAF chopper when it went missing on June 3 after taking off from the Jorhat air base. The An-32 was headed for a remote base in Arunachal Pradesh when it went off the radar at 12:25 pm.
IAF had said on Tuesday, "Efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupants & establish survivors. Further details will be communicated as the recovery actions progress."
Eight days after it went missing in the dense forests of Arunachal, IAF finally managed to spot the wreckage of the chopper. The chopper's debris was seen lying amid charred trees on a hill slope.
Although rescuers could not land at the crash site on Tuesday, IAF has said they have identified a landing site nearby from where the operations will be conducted.
The IAF is likely to airdrop its Garud commandos along with local teams carrying out combing operations in the thickly forested areas.
Clouds and rain could make the operation even more difficult.
The difficult terrain with dense forests has made it difficult for rescuers to proceed with the operations. A challenging task lies ahead for the IAF in trying to look for survivors.
According to an IAF official, the jet crashed on a densely covered ridge and if it requires for the rescue personnel to cross the ridge, it will turn out to be even more difficult to reach the wreckage.
Meanwhile, family members of the 13 IAF personnel who were travelling in the fateful aircraft continue to wait patiently in Assam for any news from the search party.