Government, defence forces working tirelessly to locate missing AN-32 aircraft: VK Singh

NEW DELHI: As even after seven days there is no clue about the whereabouts of AN32 aircraft, Union Minister General (Retd) VK Singh on Sunday assured that the government and defence forces are "working tirelessly" to locate it.

The aircraft with 13 IAF personnel onboard went missing on Monday afternoon after taking off from Jorhat. It was headed for Menchuka advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh when it lost contact with the ground authorities at 1300 hours.

"As a soldier, I empathize with the families of these 13 brave men. My thoughts & prayers are with all of you Our government & defence forces are working tirelessly in harsh weather conditions, in particularly challenging geography to find the AN 32 aircraft, " the Former Chief of Army Staff tweeted.

No sighting has been done yet. Search missions by other sensors will be carried during the night.

Massive efforts are on to locate AN-32 transport aircraft with the Air Force deploying Navy's P-8I aircraft and Global 5000 surveillance aircraft along with NTRO satellites on the fifth day since it went missing over Arunachal Pradesh.

Apart from these, Su-30MKI combat aircraft, C-130J special operations aircraft, several choppers, UAVs and even ground troops are carrying out search missions to locate the plane.

The aircraft with 13 IAF personnel onboard went missing on Monday afternoon after taking off from Jorhat. It was headed for Menchuka advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh when it lost contact with the ground authorities at 1300 hours.In a statement on Friday, IAF said that it is in regular touch with the families of the missing air-warriors and all assistance is being provided to them.

"IAF is not sparing any efforts in locating the missing air-warriors. We stand in support of the families in these difficult times," said the Air Force in the statement.