Remains of AN-32 victims to be sent to their homes: IAF

The mortal remains of all 13 IAF personnel, who died in the crash of AN-32 aircraft, reached Jorhat on Thursday and will be sent to their home towns for last rites.

"The mortal remains of the 13 brave air-warriors have been recovered and sent to Air Force Station, Jorhat. Thereafter, the mortal remains will be sent to their hometown, where funeral as per service customs will be carried out," Shillong-based IAF spokesperson, Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said on Thursday evening.

After four days of struggle due to bad weather, the recovery team lifted the bodies of six persons and remains of seven others from the crash site on Wednesday.

The crash site was spotted by a Mi-17 helicopter on June 11 in Siang district.

The transport aircraft went missing around 1 pm on June 3, a little over 30 minutes after it took off from Jorhat air force station in eastern Assam. It was headed toward Mechuka landing ground near China border in Arunachal Pradesh.

Those who died in the crash are: Wing Commander GM Charles, Squadron Leader LH Vinod, flight lieutenant R Thapa, Flight Lieutenant A Tanwar, Flight Lieutenant S Mohanty, Flight Lieutenant M K Garg, Warrant Officer K K Mishra, Sergeant Anoop Kumar, Corporal Sherin, Lead Aircraft Man S K Singh, Lead Aircraft Man Pankaj, Non Combatant (Enrolled) Putali and Non Combatant (Enrolled) Rajesh Kumar.

The family members of the victims are stationed in Jorhat since then.

"Indian Air Force stands with the families and next-of-kin of all the air-warriors who lost their lives in the line of duty. IAF thanks Indian Army, Indian Navy, NTRO, State administration and civil population for their unstinted support during search and rescue operations," Singh's statement said.