Jorhat: Five Indian Air Force personnel perished on Saturday morning when an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at the Rowriah Air Force Station in Assam’s Jorhat district. The dead have been identified. Among the six on board, only the co-pilot survived — and he is currently receiving medical treatment for his injuries (AN-32 Aircraft Crash).
It was supposed to be a routine sortie. The aircraft, belonging to 43 Squadron and carrying cargo, took off from Jorhat at approximately 10 AM. The crash occurred during the landing process. Rescue teams were scrambled immediately.
The IAF officially confirmed the tragedy on social media. “IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives and stands firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief,” the force posted on X, requesting the public to hold speculation until preliminary inquiry results are available. A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause.
The five personnel who made the supreme sacrifice have been named as Squadron Leader Prashant Singh, Flight Lieutenant Shubham Kumar, Sergeant Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat, and Agniveervayu Danish Alam. Defence PRO Lieutenant Colonel M. Rawat confirmed the accident. The entire air force station has been sealed, with no civilian entry permitted.
The AN-32 is no stranger to tragedy. Procured from the then-Soviet Union in 1984, this twin-engine turboprop has been the backbone of IAF logistics for decades — ferrying supplies, troops, and equipment to some of India’s most difficult terrain. Saturday’s crash is the third major AN-32 accident in a decade. On July 22, 2016, one went missing over the Bay of Bengal en route to Port Blair from Chennai, claiming 29 lives. Three years later, on June 3, 2019, another went down in the forested hills of Arunachal Pradesh while heading to Mechuka near the China border — killing all 13 on board. Combined with Saturday’s losses, the ageing fleet has now claimed 47 lives across three crashes since 2016.
The cause of the current accident remains under investigation.
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