13 August,2016 10:31 AM IST | | Agencies
There are “unlikely” to be any survivors on board the AN-32 aircraft that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, the government said in Lok Sabha yesterday
New Delhi: There are "unlikely" to be any survivors on board the AN-32 aircraft that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, the government said in Lok Sabha yesterday. This is perhaps the first categorical statement by the government on the fate of the 29 people on board the IAF workhorse.
MoS for Defence Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, however, insisted that the search for the missing transport aircraft will not stop till its wreckage is found.
The Minister told the house that a variety of defence aircrafts, including helicopters of the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard, have been pressed into service to locate the plane. "Merchant vessels and the fishermen community have also been requested to look out for debris. At least 30 floating objects were located but no concrete evidence has yet been found," he said.
Except AN-32, no crash death in '16
In the last 24 months, there has been no loss of life in any air crash involving Indian Air Force (IAF) planes, barring the unfortunate accident with AN-32, the government told the Lok Sabha. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the IAF had lost seven aircrafts in crashes in 2013-14, ten in 2014-15, and six in 2015-16. Up to August 9, 2016, four planes crashed, he said.
