The medium-lift plane, upgraded last year, can fly for four hours and 15 minutes without refuelling. Indian Air Force personnel stand guard at Tambaram airforce station in Chennai. An Indian air force plane carrying 29 personnel went missing over the Bay of Bengal on its way from Chennai to the Andaman Nicobar Islands on Friday, triggering an expansive search involving helicopters, warships and a submarine. The Indian air force has gradually been getting rid of its older planes, some of which date back to the 1960s. IAF officials said the missing plane made its last radio contact at 8.46 am and it was last seen on the radar at 9.12 am.

Source: Hindustan Times July 22, 2016 15:00 UTC