Aircraft, ships launch search and rescue operation
An AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force has gone missing over the Bay of Bengal at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Efforts are on to locate it.
The aircraft that took off from the Tambaram Air Force base at 8:30 a.m. with 29 persons on board, including its crew, was due to land at Port Blair at 11.30 a.m. at INS Utkrosh naval airstation in Port Blair, sources in the Air Force said.
“An IAF AN-32 aircraft travelling from Chennai to Port Blair on a courier flight with service personnel was scheduled to arrive at Port Blair at 1130 hrs,” defence officials said.
The distance between Chennai and Port Blair is about 750 nautical miles or 1,200 km.
The 29 personnel on board comprise six crew (three officers, 2 airmen and one technician), 11 Air Force personnel, two other ranks from the Army, Nine Navy personnel, of which eight are Navy civilians and one Personnel Below Officer Rank (POBR) and one from the Coast Guard.
Search And Rescue launched
The ongoing Search and Rescue (SAR) has been further expanded. The Navy has now pressed 12 ships, two P-8I long range patrol aircraft and two Dornier aircraft for Full SAR efforts.
@SpokespersonMoD EF with FOCEF RAdm SV Bokhare onboard INS Sahyadri sails out from Port Blair and rushes for SAR pic.twitter.com/YotwuL8LB7
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) July 22, 2016
“In addition, four ships - INS Karmukh, Gharual, Jyoti and Kuthar, have been diverted to join in SAR at full speed,” Navy officials said.
Eastern Fleet Commander Rear Adm SV Bokhare has embarked on INS Sahyadri from Port Blair to undertake search for the missing plane. “The Navy is fully mobilised,” Navy spokesperson said. Additional Naval assets are on standby.
The Coast Guard has pressed CGS Sagar and one Dornier for SAR.The Navy has deployed 12 ships and two aircraft in a full-fledged Search and Rescue mission to locate the An 32 aircraft en route to Port Blair from Chennai which has been reported missing since 9 am on Friday morning.
Eastern Fleet Commander Rear Adm S.V. Bokhare is aboard the INS Sahyadri from Port Blair. “The Navy is fully mobilised,” the Navy spokesperson said. Two P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft with advanced electro-optics and radars, two Dornier aircraft and 12 ships with integral helicopters are part of the search operations, a Navy release stated.
The distance between Chennai and Port Blair is about 750 nautical miles or 1,200 kilometres. The search and rescue has been expanded on this axis.
Locator beacon
In the case of a crash the locator beacon on an aircraft gets activated and can transmit signals to the search teams for a few days. The search mission is now trying to locate such signals and spot crash debris.
The ships deployed for the search operation include Sahyadri, Rajput, Ranvijay, Kamorta, Kirch, Karmuk, Kora, Kuthar, Shakti, Jyoti, Ghariyal and Sukanya. A Navy submarine has also been diverted from its mission to seek transmission of the locator beacon from underwater.
In addition, the Coast Guard has moved five ships, ICGS Vishvast, Rajveer from Port Blair while Sagar, Samudra Pehredar were sent from Chennai. Two Dornier aircraft have also been pressed into service.
Coast Guard on site
Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh told The Hindu their two ships were the first to reach the last known location of the An 32. He identified “Coast Guard sailor R.M. Krishnan” as being on board the missing aircraft.
“With the initial inputs, the search operation is going on some 150 nautical miles east off Chennai. A total of 12 ships and many aircraft, including Navy’s P-8I and Dornier are involved in the search and rescue operations. No uniformed Navy personnel were on board the aircraft,” Rear Admiral Alok Bhatnagar, Flag Officer of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area told The Hindu.
An AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force has gone missing over the Bay of Bengal at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Efforts are on to locate it.
The aircraft that took off from the Tambaram Air Force base at 8:30 a.m. with 29 persons on board, including its crew, was due to land at Port Blair at 11.30 a.m. at INS Utkrosh naval airstation in Port Blair, sources in the Air Force said.
“An IAF AN-32 aircraft travelling from Chennai to Port Blair on a courier flight with service personnel was scheduled to arrive at Port Blair at 1130 hrs,” defence officials said.
The distance between Chennai and Port Blair is about 750 nautical miles or 1,200 km.
The 29 personnel on board comprise six crew (three officers, 2 airmen and one technician), 11 Air Force personnel, two other ranks from the Army, Nine Navy personnel, of which eight are Navy civilians and one Personnel Below Officer Rank (POBR) and one from the Coast Guard.
Search And Rescue launched
The ongoing Search and Rescue (SAR) has been further expanded. The Navy has now pressed 12 ships, two P-8I long range patrol aircraft and two Dornier aircraft for Full SAR efforts.
@SpokespersonMoD EF with FOCEF RAdm SV Bokhare onboard INS Sahyadri sails out from Port Blair and rushes for SAR pic.twitter.com/YotwuL8LB7
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) July 22, 2016
“In addition, four ships - INS Karmukh, Gharual, Jyoti and Kuthar, have been diverted to join in SAR at full speed,” Navy officials said.
Eastern Fleet Commander Rear Adm SV Bokhare has embarked on INS Sahyadri from Port Blair to undertake search for the missing plane. “The Navy is fully mobilised,” Navy spokesperson said. Additional Naval assets are on standby.
The Coast Guard has pressed CGS Sagar and one Dornier for SAR.The Navy has deployed 12 ships and two aircraft in a full-fledged Search and Rescue mission to locate the An 32 aircraft en route to Port Blair from Chennai which has been reported missing since 9 am on Friday morning.
Eastern Fleet Commander Rear Adm S.V. Bokhare is aboard the INS Sahyadri from Port Blair. “The Navy is fully mobilised,” the Navy spokesperson said. Two P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft with advanced electro-optics and radars, two Dornier aircraft and 12 ships with integral helicopters are part of the search operations, a Navy release stated.
The distance between Chennai and Port Blair is about 750 nautical miles or 1,200 kilometres. The search and rescue has been expanded on this axis.
Locator beacon
In the case of a crash the locator beacon on an aircraft gets activated and can transmit signals to the search teams for a few days. The search mission is now trying to locate such signals and spot crash debris.
The ships deployed for the search operation include Sahyadri, Rajput, Ranvijay, Kamorta, Kirch, Karmuk, Kora, Kuthar, Shakti, Jyoti, Ghariyal and Sukanya. A Navy submarine has also been diverted from its mission to seek transmission of the locator beacon from underwater.
In addition, the Coast Guard has moved five ships, ICGS Vishvast, Rajveer from Port Blair while Sagar, Samudra Pehredar were sent from Chennai. Two Dornier aircraft have also been pressed into service.
Coast Guard on site
Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh told The Hindu their two ships were the first to reach the last known location of the An 32. He identified “Coast Guard sailor R.M. Krishnan” as being on board the missing aircraft.
“With the initial inputs, the search operation is going on some 150 nautical miles east off Chennai. A total of 12 ships and many aircraft, including Navy’s P-8I and Dornier are involved in the search and rescue operations. No uniformed Navy personnel were on board the aircraft,” Rear Admiral Alok Bhatnagar, Flag Officer of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area told The Hindu.
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