After 11 days of a massive search and rescue operation, the Indian Navy has recovered the wreckage of the ill-fated MiG-29K aircraft along with a body, presumably of one of the two pilots.
“Mortal remains of a human body have been recovered in the vicinity of the wreckage site. The samples are being sent for DNA testing for confirmation of identity,” an Indian Navy spokesperson said in Mumbai.
The trainer aircraft along with Commander Nishant Singh and a co-pilot, which took off from the INS Vikramaditya, ditched off Goa on Nov. 26.
While the co-pilot was saved, Commander Singh has been missing since, for whom massive operations were launched by Indian Navy ships and aircraft, with over 270 hours of sorties in the Arabian Sea.
“Underwater search around the crash site which include extensive dives by saturation divers and continuous overnight search using HD cameras have been undertaken in the last ten days,” the spokesperson added.
All sections of the aircraft wreckage, including ejection seats have been accounted, for using side scan sonar and HD cameras. The FDR/CVR along with other important material have been recovered so far for analysis/investigation.
(Published 07 December 2020, 12:05 IST)
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