NEW DELHI, July 22 (UPI) — India’s air force launched a “full scale” search and rescue operation in the Bay of Bengal for a missing military transport plane with 29 people aboard.
The aircraft, flying from Tambaram to Port Blair, departed at 8:30 a.m. Friday for a three-hour flight. The aircraft lost contact 16 minutes after takeoff.
The Russian-made, twin-engine aircraft, an Antonov An-32, can fly four hours without refueling.
The country’s defense minister said at least four naval ships and several aircrafts have been deployed to search some 200 nautical miles east of Chennai.
