Thiruvananthapuram: Body parts of the two pilots of the Sukhoi - 30 fighter jet who went missing on May 23 have been retrieved from a thick forest around 60 km from Assam's Tezpur. Air Force officials have sent the DNA samples of the hairs of the two fighter pilots and also the blood samples of their parents to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Guwahati to identify the bodies. Top officials of Air Force informed the neighbours of Achu Dev that the body will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday by a special flight.
Air Force officials in New Delhi released an official press release on Wednesday night stating that Achu Dev, Flight Lieutenant and D. Pankaj met with fatal injuries.
"Sqn Ldr D Pankaj and Flt Lt S Achudev, the pilots of the Su-30 aircraft sustained fatal injuries when the aircraft crashed approximately 60 km from Tezpur Airbase on 23 May 17. Analysis of the Flight Data Recorder of the aircraft and certain other articles recovered from the crash site revealed that the pilots could not initiate ejection before the crash. The wreckage of the aircraft was earlier located on 26 May 17 after continuous search operation in the area," said the Air Force press release.
Achu Dev's parents, V. P. Sahadevan, a retired engineer from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and Jayashree, a retired employee of Audio Visual Reprographic Centre, are camping at Tezpur since last Wednesday and have not yet been informed of the tragic news. Four Air Force officials belonging to the Thiruvanantha-puram Air Force Station's Southern Air Command reached Gouri Nagar at Pongumoodu, where Achu Dev's parents used to stay and spoke to the neighbours.
A court of inquiry has already been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident. Neighbours of Achu Dev's parents' home at Gouri Nagar at Pongumoodu here told DC that Air Force officials have checked the parking availability and the route as several top officials of the force would be coming to pay their last respects.
