india

Updated: Jun 15, 2019 12:54 IST

Four days after the wreckage of the AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force which crashed in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district on June 3 was spotted, bad weather is still preventing rescuers from retrieving the remains of the 13 men who perished in the crash.

“Early this morning, rescue efforts to retrieve the mortal remains of the air-warriors who laid down their life in the line of duty commenced. However, the progress has got hampered due to inclement weather in the area. Cheetah & ALH helicopters are on standby and are waiting to commence operations once the weather improves,” the IAF said in a statement on Saturday.

“At present there are low clouds associated with rain in the area. IAF is making all efforts to retrieve the mortal remains of the deceased air-warriors. IAF personnel are in constant contact with the families of these air-warriors and are being updated regularly about the ongoing rescue operations. They are also being explained the challenges about the weather,” it said.

Also read: IAF finds black box that can solve mystery of crashed An-32 that killed 13

On Friday, the IAF had said that the mortal remains of the 13 men and “other material evidence” will be picked up by helicopters and brought to Jorhat “in stages.”

The Soviet-orgin AN-32 had taken off took off from Jorhat in Assam on June 3 and was headed for an advanced landing ground at Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district, near the border with China, when it lost contact with ground control.

After a massive search operation involving a fleet of aircraft and choppers as well as ground forces, a helicopter crew spotted the wreckage of the AN-32 on Tuesday, at a height of 12,000 feet near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts after eight days.