Coast Guard, IAF, Navy fight odds to locate missing plane
Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar made a brief pit stop at Chennai’s Tambaram airbase on Saturday morning before leaving to monitor the ongoing search for the IAF AN-32 airplane missing since Friday.
“As of now, a massive search operation is in progress, braving prevalent monsoon weather conditions and poor visibility, wherein the IAF, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have pooled in all available resources to look for any possible sign of the aircraft in this vast swath of the Bay of Bengal between Chennai and Port Blair,” an IAF official said.
The Russian-made Antonov-32 plane disappeared about 280km off the coast of Chennai. Those onboard included six crew members, 15 personnel from the IAF, army, navy and coast guard, and eight civilians who were family members of the personnel.
Parrikar was briefed by senior navy and air force officials before boarding his plane to conduct an aerial survey of the ongoing search and rescue operation.
Meanwhile, the wife of one of those missing was hopeful of his return. “Nothing will happen to my husband. I am confident he will return safely,” said Purnima to her relatives. Purnima’s husband, Pati Nagendra Rao, is a fitter in the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) in Visakhapatnam.
At 34-year old Nagendra’s residence in Lakshminagar, relatives, residents and politicians consoled Purnima. Nagendra’s two sons — six-year-old Sai Praneeth and three-year-old Nihar — have been unable to comprehend the bustle around their home. Nagendra’s parents, Prakash Rao and Eshwari, are in a state of deep shock.
The situation at the residence of 55-year-old Nammi Chinna Rao is no different. Ever since NAD authorities informed them of the missing plane, his family — a wife, two sons and a daughter — have been distraught. Rao, who was working as tradesman mate (TMM) in NAD for the last 25 years, contacted the family on Friday morning. “In the evening, at around 4pm, we got a call from authorities that there is no trace of my father as the flight is missing,” his son told Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who called on the families on Saturday morning. (With inputs from Srinivasa Rao
Apparasu in Hyderabad)