China says no info on the jet, hope India avoids disturbing peace
Guwahati: Search operations for a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet that had gone missing during a routine training
flight with two pilots on board on Tuesday from Tezpur Airbase in northern Assam, remained unsuccessful on the second day on Wednesday.
A communiqué from Defence wing of the Government of India informed this evening that the search and rescue operations were resumed at daybreak on Wednesday with engagement of C-130 aircraft with electro-optical payload, ALH and Chetak helicopters of Indian Air Force (IAF) for this mission.
“However, inclement weather prevailing at the area being searched was hampering and impeding the operations. SU-30 aircraft with recce capability is also being utilised for locating the missing aircraft. Apart from the aerial assets, four ground parties of IAF personnel, nine parties of Indian Army and two parties of state administration have been deployed on different axes to search the area.
Till now no breakthrough has been made in locating the aircraft and its pilots,” the communiqué stated.
Meanwhile, a low level upper air cyclonic circulation persists over Assam and adjoining Arunachal Pradesh and there is possibility of overcast skies and few spells of rain/ thundershowers Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dirang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Dagbom Riba, confirmed that no trace of the missing plane had been found yet.
He said a team of Dirang-based National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, led by its head Col. Gulshan Satda, had reached remote Shergaon village near Rupa in West Kameng district on Wednesday and they would be conductin search operations in Doimara forest on Thursday.
The SU-30 fighter jet with two pilots on board took off for a routine practice flight from Tezpur IAF base on Tuesday morning and had remained in contact with the control room for an aerial distance of 60 km before it went off the radar and radio communication.
Meanwhile, China said on Wednesday it has no information on the missing Indian Air Force Sukhoi fighter jet with two pilots on board and asked India to stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides to maintain peace.
“For the situation you mentioned, I have no relevant information to offer at the moment,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters when asked about the missing Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet and whether China would assist India in finding the plane that took off from the Tezpur base in Assam for a routine training sortie nearly 24 hours ago.
The fighter plane has since been untraceable. “We have been following the situation in South Tibet (Arunachal Pradesh) very closely,” he said, apparently referring to reports that the jet was flying over the area before it was reported missing.
At the same time, he referred to the border dispute between India and China, saying that “first of all on the eastern section of the India-China border, China’s position is consistent and clear.”
“We hope India can stick to the arrangements reached between the two sides and avoid disrupting peace and stability at the border areas,” Lu said.
China’s curt reaction came amid a growing discord between the two countries on a host of issues, including the recent visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing considers as Southern Tibet.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control. While China claims Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet, India asserts that the dispute also covers the ‘Aksai Chin’ area, which was occupied by China during the 1962 war.
At present, two squadrons comprising around 36 aircraft are deployed at Tezpur for guarding the Sino-India border in Arunachal Pradesh. (With added inputs from PTI)
