Making a breakthrough in its bid to recover 13 bodies from the An-32 crash site in Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Air Force rescue team on Thursday finally managed to recover six bodies and mortal remains of seven others.
Tough terrain and inclement weather had been delaying the operation to recover the bodies from the crash site so far. The mortal remains were recovered by a ground team of Garud commandos, civilian porters and hunters, which travelled to the crash site on foot.
Shillong-based IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh had earlier said that bad weather and clouds had been hampering retrieval operation.
“Our helicopters were on the lookout for a window to fly but could not. But we are leaving no stone unturned in our attempts to retrieve the bodies,” he had said earlier this week.
Shillong-based IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh had earlier said that bad weather and clouds had been hampering retrieval operation.
“Our helicopters were on the lookout for a window to fly but could not. But we are leaving no stone unturned in our attempts to retrieve the bodies,” he had said earlier this week.
Helicopters, including Mi-17s, Cheetah and ALH, had been pressed into the body recovery operation.
“Retrieval operations require the steep mountain sides to be visible for the helicopters to safely hover close to the crash site and for operating crew to be able to see the personnel on the ground,” Singh said.
“No efforts are being spared by the IAF personnel to ensure that the mortal remains of their brothers in arms are retrieved at the earliest. The Army and Arunachal Pradesh state administration have all along provided unflinching support,” the IAF spokesperson had added.
The An-32 transporter aircraft had gone missing on June 3 – it was flying from Jorhat in Assam to Menchuka advanced landing ground near the border with China. The plane went off radar some 30 minutes after take-off.
The wreckage of the missing plane was spotted by a Mi-17 chopper on June 11. Afterwards, a team of 15 mountaineers was dropped close to the crash site on the mountain on June 12. A day later, the IAF declared that all 13 personnel onboard had died in the crash.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) of the Russian-origin aircraft have already been recovered.
