Govt Tells In Lok Sabha There Is"Unlikely" Any Survivor In Missing AN-32 Plane

Three weeks have gone after the AN-32 aircraft went missing over the Bay of Bengal on 22 July. The flight took off from Tambaram air base near Chennai at 8:30 am for Port Blair, but never reached the destination. It was last seen on the radar around 9 am. There were 6 crew members and 23 personnel on board.

On Friday, the government in the Lok Sabha stated it was “unlikely” that there are any survivors from the missing flight after these many days of the incident. The statement was made by the Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre during the Question Hour, in response to deputy speaker M Thambi Durai. Durai insists the search must go on until the wreckage is found.

The minister further went on to state aircraft including helicopters of the Air Force and the coast guard have been attempting to locate the missing plane. In addition, merchant vessels and fishermen communities have been informed of the situation and their aid to locate and report any debris has been requested for. 30 floating objects have been located but no “concrete” evidence has been found so far. We hope some evidence regarding the outcome of the flight is recovered soon.