New Delhi: Union Minister General (Retd) VK Singh on Sunday assured that the government and defence forces are “working tirelessly” to locate the missing AN-32 aircraft, but it remains missing. 

Indian forces have pressed their assets and latest technology to track the transporter plane on which 13 people were on board but have failed.

Seven days after the incident, former chief of Army staff, Gen VK Singh, tweeted, “As a soldier, I empathize with the families of these 13 brave men. My thoughts & prayers are with all of you Our government & defence forces are working tirelessly in harsh weather conditions, in particularly challenging geography to find the AN 32 aircraft.”

The Indian Air Force has also announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any credible information of the location of AN-32 aircraft.

IAF’s Eastern Command Chief Air Marshal RD Mathur has announced the cash reward after the aircraft could not be located despite six days of intensive search operation.

The IAF has also shared phone numbers on which anyone having credible information about the aircraft can call. The mobile numbers to share the information relating to the missing aircraft are - 9436499477 / 9402077267 / 9402132477.

On June 3, the Russian-origin AN-32 aircraft with 13 people on board went missing soon after taking off from Jorhat in Assam. The transport aircraft was heading to Menchuka advanced landing ground near the Chinese border.

The IAF launched a massive search operation to trace the aircraft but has had very little success. Military troops have been searching the mountainous area. However, the areal search operation could not be undertaken due to adverse weather conditions.

Also read: IAF’s AN-32 aircraft goes missing; Search operations underway

The Indian Air Force has increased the deployment of its helicopters and transport aircraft and has expanded the search area significantly since the beginning of the operation. Airborne sensors and satellites are covering more and more space, and the imaging is being followed-up by close analysis of the data for its synergistic amalgamation in the search operations.

The aircraft with 13 IAF personnel on board lost contact with ground authorities at 1 PM while heading to Menchuka advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh from Assam.