13 bodies found from crash site of IAF AN-32 in Arunachal

Search teams led by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on June 13 recovered the bodies of all 13 personnel who were on board the AN-32 transport aircraft which crashed into a mountain near Tato in Arunachal Pradesh on June 3. The black box was also recovered. The wreckage of the aircraft was spotted from the air after eight days of intense search operations.

The dead include six IAF officers. The aircraft crashed during a routine maintenance sortie from the Jorhat airbase to Mechuka, a forward air strip close to the China border.

"IAF is sad to inform that there are no survivors from the crash of AN-32," an IAF spokesperson Tweeted.

The IAF also released the names of those who lost their lives. They include Wing Commander GM Charles, Squadron Leader H Vinod, Flight Lieutenant R Thapa, Flight Lieutenant A Tanwar, Fligh Lieutenant S Mohanty, Flight Lieutenant MK Garg, Warrant Officer KK Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, Lance Corporal SK Singh and Non Combatants (E) Putali and Rajesh Kumar.

"IAF Pays tribute to the brave Air-warriors who lost their life during the #An32 crash on 03 Jun 2019 and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace," the spokesperson added.

A court of inquiry will establish the cause of crash.

2019 has been a bad year for the IAF. It has lost 23 lives and 10 aircraft in crashes so far this year.