Jajpur, July 23: Purnachandra Senapati, an Odia who hails from Rangranga village near Panikoili in Jajpur district, is also one among the 29 aboard the Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 transport aircraft that went missing on Friday over the Bay of Bengal, along with another Odia, Charan Maharana of Sukunda village that was reported earlier.
Both were reportedly among the 29 on board of IAF aircraft that went missing over Bay of Bengal. The Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft has been reported missing approx 300 km due East of Chennai yesterday morning.
Describing it as a “routine sortie”, officials said that the upgraded AN-32 aircraft of the 33 Squadron, had took off from Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai at 8.30 a.m., and was expected to land at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 11.30 a.m. The report submitted by Air Force Chief Marshal, Arup Raha to Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar stated that the recorded transcript of the Chennai air traffic radar showed the last pickup was 151 nautical miles east of Chennai, when the aircraft took a left turn thus having a rapid loss of height from 23,000 feet.
