An AN 32 aircraft of the IAF, with 29 personnel on board, including four officers, went missing over Bay of Bengal on its way from near Chennai on Friday to Port Blair raising concerns over its fate. The upgraded plane made the last radio contact at 0846 hours, 16 minutes after take off from Tambaram air base. A massive search and rescue operation has been launched by IAF, Navy and Coast Guard, deploying one
submarine, eight aircraft and 13 ships for tracking it. While IAF has pressed into service a C130 plane along with two AN32, the Navy has deployed two P8i maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the strategically important Port Blair, home to India's only tri-service command. Coast Guard has rushed four ships to the spot besides two dorniers. The Navy has also pressed into service two Dornier aircraft and 12 ships with the Eastern Fleet Commander on board for the search and rescue operation.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard said their reconnaissance Dornier aircraft has reached the site from where the IAF plane had sent the signals for the last time.
The Russian built twin engine AN 32 aircraft had undergone an upgrade in Ukraine.
IAF has a fleet of over 100 AN32s but the multi-million dollar upgrade programme has been hit due to the crisis in Ukraine. The aircraft can fly for up to four hours without re-fuelling.
What adds to the concern is the fact that the aircraft can only fly for up to four hours without re-fuelling.
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