Defence minister Manohar Parrikar was overseeing the search operation, which was based out of the southeastern city of Chennai, from where the plane took off on Friday, he said. There were 21 military personnel on board the missing plane including six crew. Military officials said the weather had been rough in the Bay of Bengal over the last two days because of the monsoon season. Sixteen ships, a submarine and six planes are involved in the search for the plane that disappeared while on a routine re-supply flight to remote islands in the Bay of Bengal on Friday. The AN-32 is a workhorse of the air force, chosen for its ability to operate from short runways.

Source: Mint July 23, 2016 07:52 UTC