Chennai: A significant breakthrough was achieved in the search operation for the missing Dornier on Friday with the flight data recorder of the coast guard aircraft being recovered. More significantly, a part of the nose wheel of the flight’s undercarriage was also picked up.
Addressing an urgently convened press meet in late evening, Inspector General S.P. Sharma, Eastern Region Commander of the Coast Guard, said the retrieval of the two components of the flight was possible after the Indian naval submarine Sindhudhavaj picked up a barrage of transmissions at a depth of 996 meters on Monday at a location of 20 nautical miles of Pitchavaram.
Subsequently, “with the help of the remotely operate vehicle on board the MV Olympic Canyon, a chartered vessel of Reliance Industries, the flight data recorder was recovered,” he said. The search will continue, he aded.
The Coast Guard official said the retrieval of FDR will provide vital inputs towards establishing the cause of the incident. He also said the information on Friday’s developments has already been relayed to the families of the three officers, who were onboard the fateful flight, which went missing on June 8.
Operation Talash, the search operation for the Dornier Aircraft has been called as one of the largest ever search operations undertaken by the country’s defence forces in recent times.
