No fewer than five Indian Air Force personnel were killed when a military plane crashed while landing at a base in the country’s remote northeast on Saturday, the military said in a statement.
“The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat,” a city in Assam state, the air force said in a statement.
It did not specify how many individuals were on board at the time or whether any survived.
However, an air force officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, informed AFP that the co-pilot had survived.
The news channel NDTV published images of the crash site, which showed a strong black plume of smoke and the aircraft appearing to be split into pieces.
The air force said it “extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and stands firmly with them in this hour of grief.”
It had previously stated that the Russian-made Antonov An-32 was on a “routine sortie” when it crashed as it approached the runway.
“A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the air force announced.
The An-32, a twin-engine turboprop, was specifically built to function effectively at high altitudes and in harsh environments.
The Indian Air Force uses approximately 100 aircraft to deliver military supplies and civilian help in the country’s most remote mountain locations.
The last big aviation disaster occurred in 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh, close to the Chinese border, killing 13 persons.
