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India's air force finds wreckage of missing plane

Plane disappeared from radar on June 3 shortly after it took off from Jorhat town in eastern Assam

Reuters June 11, 2019

Plane disappeared from radar on June 3 shortly after it took off from Jorhat town in eastern Assam state. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

GUWAHATI: An Indian air force helicopter on Tuesday spotted wreckage of a military plane that went missing last week in remote mountains bordering China and authorities were trying to determine the fate of the 13 people on board.

The wreckage of the AN-32 aircraft, which is typically used for transport, was spotted about 16 km (10 miles) north of Lipo village in Arunachal Pradesh state, the air force said on Twitter.

The wreckage of the missing #An32 was spotted today 16 Kms North of Lipo, North East of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft by the #IAF Mi-17 Helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone..
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 11, 2019

“Efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupants & establish survivors,” the air force said.

The plane disappeared from radar on June 3 shortly after it took off from Jorhat town in eastern Assam state for Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh. Eight crew and five passengers were on board.

“The wreckage has been spotted,” Mito Dirchi, a district official in Arunachal Pradesh, told Reuters.

“It is close to the spot where the plane disappeared from the radar,” he added.