The Indian Airforce is facing another challenge and this too is related to the tragedy of An 32 crash. Now Air Force is waiting for the weather to improve and has been trying to retrieve the mountaineering team from the crash site at the earliest.
We at Indian Air Force (IAF) are making all efforts to airlift the stranded Twelve member rescue team from the site where an AN-32 aircraft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh, an IAF official said on June 29.
Rescue team is stranded in the border area of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts for 17 days now and that too at a height of 12,000 feet. This is the place where these team members were airdropped and retrieved the bodies of 13 air warrioprs on board and the black box of the plane.The team is waiting for the weather to improve so that they could be airlifted from the spot, he said.
Despite the ongoing active monsoon conditions, several sorties have been launched to reach the crash site, but excessive clouding prevented helicopter landings there, Shillong-based IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said in a statement on June 29. He said that team has been reinforced with ration and other essential supplies. Official are in constant communication with them through satellite phones.
According to India Air Force spokesperson trekking down the hill was risky and dangerous considering the terrain and the area had been experiencing heavy rains in the last couple of days.
‘We are confident that we will be able to airlift them as soon as there is a slight reduction in rains and clouding,’ spokseperson added.
An-32 aircraft went missing 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat Airbase in Assam on June 3. It was suupose to land at Mechuka in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh. While six bodies were retrieved on June 19, the remaining seven were retrieved the next day.
