India seeks US help to locate IAF AN-32

India has sought the help of the United States to locate the Indian Air Force’s AN-32 aircraft that disappeared a week ago, soon after taking-off towards Chennai. The US defence department was contacted to check if any of their satellites picked up any emergency signals from the missing aircraft. The US satellite images were also sought.

“As there was no emergency signal from the AN-32, we sought the US defence force’s assistance to find out if their space-based assets picked up any signal,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha, responding to members’ queries. The absence of the ‘Mayday’ distress



signal from the experienced pilots of the AN-32 — one of the safest IAF aircraft — remains the most puzzling factor in the incident.

While two Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) satellites, Cartosat 2A and 2B, are imaging the sea surface to find out clues on the debris of the aircraft and the passengers, satellite imageries from the US have also been sought.

“US satellite systems are more dense,” he said, underscoring the need to seek foreign help. Navy submarine INS Sindhudhvaj is also carrying out underwater search. The minister virtually ruled out the possibility of a sabotage.