Wreckage of missing Sukhoi Su-30 MKI found near Assam-Arunachal border; jet disappeared 3 days ago

Three days after Sukhoi Su-30 MKI went missing in the North East, its wreckage was located on Friday afternoon near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border by the Indian Air Force. The exact location is yet to be confirmed, but reports said the spot where the wreckage was found is close enough to the aircraft’s last known location. [caption id=“attachment_3472550” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of IAF Sukhoi SU-30 aircraft. Image courtesy: PIB[/caption] “Wreckage found. Close to the last known position of aircraft. As of now weather is bad and the place has dense foliage. Further update follows,” said the IAF in an official statement. However there isn’t any news about any possible survivors. The Sukhoi jet went missing on Tuesday morning around 10.30 am, after taking off from Tezpur Air Force station in Assam The plane, which was was part of a two-aircraft formation, was on a routine training sortie, but lost radar and radio contact around 60 kilometres northeast of the airbase. Massive search and rescue operation have been going on for the missing airplane since Tuesday. However, bad weather has hampered the search. The search was extended beyond the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and into Bhutan. Helicopters and aircraft were pressed into service since Tuesday by the Indian Air Force. At present, two squadrons comprising around 36 aircraft are deployed at Tezpur.