Six bodies and the remains of seven crew members of the Indian Air Force’s AN-32 transporter aircraft have been recovered from the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh, defence spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said in Shillong on Thursday, according to ANI.
The bodies were found 17 days after the aircraft crashed. The aircraft went missing on June 3, about 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam. It was travelling to Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, near the China border. An air force team found the wreckage of the missing aircraft on June 11 at a height of 12,000 feet in the Payum region of Arunachal Pradesh’s Shi Yomi district. The crash site is a thickly forested slope near Gatte village, The Indian Express reported.
An 18-member team that was camping near the crash site was tasked with airlifting the bodies from the mountain slope. An additional 19-member team was deployed on Wednesday. Helicopters were unable to reach the site over the past three days due to inclement weather.
Wing Commander GM Charles, Squadron Leader H Vinod, Flight Lieutenant MK Garg, Flight Lieutenant S Mohanty, Flight Lieutenant A Tanwar, Flight Lieutenant R Thapa, Warrant Officer KK Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, Leading Aircraftman SK Singh and Leading Aircraftman Pankaj were killed in the crash, according to The Indian Express.
Garg’s family confirmed that they were informed that his remains will reach Patiala at 9 am on Friday.
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