The wreckage of the An-32 aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force, which went missing over the Bay of Bengal in 2016 with 29 personnel on board, has recently been located approximately 310 kilometers off the coast of Chennai, as reported in a government press release on Friday.
The images captured during the search depicted debris of a crashed aircraft on the sea bed. Upon careful examination, it was determined that the wreckage resembled that of an An-32 aircraft. The statement emphasized that the discovery, occurring at the probable crash site with no previous reports of missing aircraft in the area, strongly suggests that the debris may belong to the crashed IAF An-32 (K-2743).
Providing a brief overview of the incident, the statement recalled the events of July 22, 2016, when the IAF Antonov An-32 took off from Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai intending to reach INS Utkrosh, an Indian naval air station in Port Blair. Unfortunately, the aircraft lost all communication shortly after takeoff, vanishing from radar while flying over the Bay of Bengal. This prompted the armed forces to launch a comprehensive search and rescue mission, ultimately becoming India's largest operation for a missing aircraft over the sea.
Regrettably, on September 15, 2016, the Indian Air Force conveyed the inability to locate the missing An-32 K2743 to the family members of the 29 individuals on board. With no viable options left, the Air Force reluctantly declared those on board as "presumed dead."
