Pathanamthitta (Kerala): After fifty-six years, the Odalil house in Elanthoor of Pathanamthitta District is experiencing a bittersweet moment as they receive long-awaited news about a missing family member. Thomas Cherian, a 22-year-old craftsman in the Indian Air Force, was among those who went missing when an Air Force plane crashed in Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh, in 1968. Cheriyan's mortal remains were among the four recovered through a search mission, the Army said on Monday.
The twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft AN-12, carrying 102 people, had gone missing on February 7, 1968, while flying from Chandigarh to Leh. For decades, the wreckage and remains of the victims remained lost in the icy terrain.
Cherian was the second of five children of OM Thomas from the Odalil household. For 56 long years, the family waited after receiving a notification from the Air Force about his disappearance. On September 30, the family was informed that his remains had been recovered.
The surviving family members, including his younger brother Thomas Varghese and nephew Shaiju K Mathew, still reside at the family home. Varghese, who was only eight years old when his brother went missing, vividly remembers the day the telegram arrived on February 7, 1968, informing them of the plane's disappearance. In 2003, the authorities confirmed that the plane had crashed and that some bodies were recovered.
The local police from Aranmula visited the family to verify details about Thomas Cherian on Monday. Thomas Varghese was ambivalent about receiving the news. Shaiju Mathew extended the family's heartfelt happiness and gratitude to the Army and the nation for showing this much consideration and respect to the soldiers.
Several other soldiers from Kerala were also aboard the ill-fated AN12 aircraft, including KP Panicker, KK Rajapan from Kottayam, and S Bhaskaran Pillai from the Army Service Corps. The bodies of these soldiers have not yet been found. Of the four bodies discovered in September in the Rohtang Pass, three have been identified, including that of Thomas Cherian. Locals hope that the fourth body might belong to PS Joseph, a soldier from Ranni who was also on the flight.
Army officials said on Monday that the mortal remains were found by a joint team comprising personnel from the Dogra Scouts of the Indian Army and Tiranga Mountain Rescue. It was only in 2003 when mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering discovered the wreckage, sparking multiple expeditions over the years by the Indian Army, especially the Dogra Scouts. The Dogra Scouts have been at the forefront of search missions in 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2019.
