Wreckage of missing IAF An-32 found in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district 

An IAF An-32. (Representational photo) 

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force, on Tuesday, confirmed that the wreckage of an An-32 aircraft, which went missing with 13 on board on June 3, has been found in Payum Circle of Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh.

The findings were spotted by a Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force, at a height of around 12,000 feet.

The wreckage of the missing #An32 was spotted today 16 Kms North of Lipo, North East of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft by the #IAF Mi-17 Helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone..

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 11, 2019

The IAF also said efforts to find survivors, if any, were now on.

IAF C-130J transport aircraft, Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, Navy P8-I search aircraft and a fleet of IAF and Army helicopters had been searching for the aircraft. Isro satellites and unmanned drones were also involved in the search operations.

Teams from the Army, Navy and Indo-Tibetan Border Police troops, supported by night-time sensors, worked through the night, in spite of the challenges posed by vegetation, inhospitable terrain and poor weather.

#AN32 crash site in Arunachal Pradesh. @IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/P417i0dpPr

— Anish Singh (@anishsingh21) June 11, 2019

The plane’s “search and rescue” beacon had not been in production for 14 years, and no signal had been detected. This distress signal was meant to have been picked up by a satellite belonging to Cospas-Sarsat, an international satellite-aided search and rescue facility.

When the search for the missing aircraft proved futile, the IAF announced a reward of ₹5 lakh to anyone who can help to find the plane.

_{[This story was updated at 8.11pm on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.]}

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