Chennai: Two weeks after the IAF flight AN32 went missing with 29 personnel on board over Bay of Bengal, a breakthrough still eludes “Operation Talash,” which is looking for the remains of the vanished aircraft.
According to senior officials from National Institute of Ocean Technologies, the exploration vessel Sagarnidhi would join the search operation by Sunday evening or Monday morning to look for the debris of the aircraft that is believed to have crashed into the sea during a routine flight from Chennai to Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands on July 22. Sagarnidhi, which was positioned near Mauritius, was expected to join the search by August 1. “But bad weather has affected its speed and now we believe it would join the search in two days,” an NIOT officer said.
Within hours of the aircraft going missing, the India defence establishment launched a massive search operation by engaging 20 ships and four aircraft.
In addition, Indian officials had also sought help from Russian Navy Ship Igor Belousov and Geological Survey of India ship Samudra Ratnakar besides NIOT’s Sagarnidhi. The disturbing news is that the Indian defence establishment is ill-equipped for such a massive underwater search and rescue operation, according to senior officials.
