IAF aircraft with 13 on board missing

Guwahati, June 3 (IANS) An AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 13 people on board went missing on Monday 35 minutes after it became airborne from an airport in Assam on way to Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft was flying to the Advance Landing Ground in Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China. The AN-32 took off from Jorhat at 12.25 p.m. But it did not reach its destination, forcing the IAF to initiate a massive search operation, an official said. It lost contact with ground agencies at 1 p.m. IAF officials said there were a total of eight crew and five passengers in the aircraft. Guwahati-based Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. P. Khongsai said that efforts were on to trace the missing aircraft. "All available resources have been employed to locate the plane," said a source.
--IANS ah/mr/pg