An Antonov An-32 military transport plane of the Indian Air Force crashed on Saturday upon landing at the Jorhat base in northeastern India, killing five soldiers. The co-pilot survived the crash of this aging twin-engine aircraft, the causes of which remain unknown.
An Antonov An-32 military transport plane from the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Saturday when landing at the Jorhat air base (north-east), killing five people, the army announced.
The co-pilot survived the accident, an officer told AFP on condition of anonymity, who did not specify the state of health of the soldier or the number of people on board.
The official report of the crash
“The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the death of five of its soldiers in the An-32 crash in Jorhat”she said in a press release, declining the identity of the five victims.
“The IAF extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and stands with them”she added. “An investigation has been ordered to determine the causes of the accident”the army had previously announced, without mentioning any hypothesis on the causes of the disaster.
Tragic precedents
Several Indian media broadcast images of thick plumes of black smoke rising above the base, then the dislocated cabin of the aircraft. In 2019, an AN32 leaving from the same Jorhat base crashed in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, near the Chinese border, killing its 13 passengers and crew members.
The Indian Air Force has around a hundred of these aging Soviet-made twin-engine aircraft, which carry out numerous transport missions.
