No concrete evidence emerged with respect to IAF AN-32 that went missing in 2016: Govt

Replying to a query in Lok Sabha related to the missing AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said that a massive search operation -- 'Op Talash' -- was launched for the search of the missing aircraft. The Russian-origin plane with 29 people on board had gone missing in June 2016.

New Delhi: An AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, which had disappeared over the Bay of Bengal in 2016, remains untraceable, the government said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said, "A massive search operation -- 'Op Talash' -- was launched for the search of the missing aircraft."

"However, no concrete evidence with respect to missing IAF AN-32 had emerged," he said.

The Russian-origin plane with 29 people on board, including six crew members, had gone missing in June 2016 while flying from Chennai to Port Blair.