India steps up search for missing IAF plane

India has bolstered the search for a transport AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, with 13 people on board, that has remained missing for the third consecutive day today, by pressing into service a naval plane and two of its surveillance satellites.

The authorities pressed into service a naval plane and its surveillance satellites on Tuesday, equipped with advanced sensors, helicopters and the ground troops of the army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, to help locate the IAF and the army's transport aircraft that went missing on Monday soon after taking off from an airbase at Jorhat in Assam, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The transporter aircraft took off with eight IAF personnel and five civilians on board got airborne on Monday from Jorhat at 12:27pm (local time) on Monday for Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground near the border with China. The aircraft last contacted ground agencies at around 1:00pm on Monday and thereafter, there was no further contact with the aircraft.

IAF officials said that since the aircraft did not reach the destination, overdue actions were initiated by the Indian Air Force.

"Indian Air Force commenced extensive search and rescue operations and launched C-130, AN-32, Mi-17 and ALH (Indian Army) helicopters. The aircrafts are equipped with advanced sensors. Indian Navy P-8 I aircraft joined the search operations on Tuesday," the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Indian Space Research Organization's CARTOSAT and RISAT satellites are also taking images of the flight route area of the missing plane, it said.

Post-sunset, the search by helicopters stopped for the day but the search by all sensors with night-capability and the ground troops continued throughout the night, according to the statement.