Nearly seven years after it went missing in the Bay of Bengal, an Indian Air Force (IAF) An-32 transport aircraft has been found by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The wreckage was found about 260 km off the coast of Chennai, The Hindu reported.
On July 22, 2016, at the time of the accident, the An-32 medium-sized transport aircraft (registration number K-2743) took off on a routine weekly express delivery mission from Chennai to Port Blair at 8:30 a.m. The aircraft was carrying 29 people, including 23 military personnel and 6 crew members, according to the Hindustan Times.
Indian Air Force An-32 aircraft went missing over the Bay of Bengal 7 years ago
HINDUSTAN TIMES SCREENSHOT
Ships and aircraft were mobilized for a large-scale search and rescue. However, authorities were unable to find any missing people or debris from the plane.
The IAF said the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under India's Ministry of Earth Sciences , recently deployed a deep-sea exploration-capable AUV at the last location where the An-32 was seen seven years ago.
The search was carried out at a depth of 3,400 m. Analysis of search images has shown the presence of plane debris on the seabed.
The IAF said the images were thoroughly examined. After examination, the wreckage showed many characteristics consistent with the An-32. The IAF added that there was no previous record of any other disappearance in the same area. Therefore, the debris could only belong to the crashed An-32.
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