An Indian Air Force flight that took off from Chennai has gone missing, reports said. The AN-32 aircraft was flying from Tambaram, Chennai, to Port Blair and has 29 people, including six crew, on board. Eight of the passengers were civilians, NDTV reported. It has reportedly been missing for around five hours now. The Navy has launched search and rescue operations. The Indian Air Force has briefed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and an Indian Navy submarine has joined the search crew. Parrikar said all efforts are on to find the aircraft.
At least four ships, and 12 fast moving interceptors have joined the rescue operations. Local fishermen have also been asked to keep an eye out for signs of a wreckage.
The flight took off at 8 am, and was expected to land in Port Blair at 11.30 am. Officials said they lost contact with the aircraft around 15 minutes after it took off. The AN-32 can only fly around four hours without refueling, reports said. The Navy has sent a Dornier aircraft and four ships, Karmukh, Gharial, Jyoti and Kuthar to the region to assist in search operations, NDTV reported.
On June 8, 2015, a Coast Guard aircraft disappeared off the Chennai coast during a routine surveillance sortie. Personal belongings and human remains of three crew members were recovered after around a month of searching.
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