Missing AN-32 aircraft: search on in AP forests

In a sudden twist in the search operations of the missing Indian Air Force (IAF) flight AN-32 with 29 passengers onboard, the defence authorities shifted their focus to Andhra Pradesh (AP).

A major search operation by air and by foot is underway to locate the missing aircraft, following a tip-off from tribals of Nathavaram forest ranges of Visakhapatnam district in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh to the Suryalanka Air force Station in Guntur district on July 30 that they had heard a deafening sound on July 22 from the forest.

The cargo flight AN-32 went missing off the radar enroute to Port Blair from Tambaram Air Force station on July 22 with 29 passengers, including six crew members onboard.

While the initial efforts with the help of an IAF helicopter to locate the so-called object failed to yield results, another such phone call made the officials resume the search operations on land also.

On Saturday, a massive search operation was undertaken in the K Duddugula area,  also known as the dense Sarugudu forest. According to the additional principal chief conservator of forests N Pradeep Kumar, two teams of forest rangers have began looking for the debris starting from Rajavummangi, Krishnadevipeta, Ankapalem, Kottadudugula and Asangiri areas to cover maximum area in a short time.

Divisional Forest Officer Geddam Sekhar Babu who is supervising the operations told media on Sunday that the search so far has not yielded any results.

The search for the missing 29 member crew of the Russian-made aircraft destined to Port Blair has become albeit  following important claims that the mobile phone of one of the crew members came alive for a while.

It was hoped that the pilot of the missing aircraft might have diverted the plane to safety by turning towards Visakhapatnam coast due to deteriorating weather conditions on Bay of Bengal.

However, forest and revenue officials are also concerned about the Maoist threat in the deep jungles of Visakhapatnam bordering Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Meanwhile, search operations to locate the AN-32 off the Chennai coast met several hurdles in the last 24 hours with bad weather wreaking havoc. Coast guard officials here said that even after 10  days of search and rescue efforts, no survivors or debris of the aircraft have been found.