NEW DELHI: The search f or Indian Air Force’s AN 32 aircraft entered the fifth day but hopes for 29 defence personnel on board it are slim, officials indicated on Tuesday.
“A lot of resources are in place. All leads till now have turned out to be bad. We are trying to concentrate on some links or sound which has emitted from some area. Trying to find out, that needs to be ascertained but there were some false leads but false leads of similar type,” said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Delhi.
Parrikar refuted a senior Coast Guard official’s claim that the AN 32’s Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) had failed--a repeat of what allegedly happened when a Coast Guard Dronier aircraft with three crew members on board crashed a year ago.
“I think the submarine finally located the Dornier with the same beeps. Initially sound might not have come due to depth of water but when the submarine went in there, they identified the location. Can’t say whether it is operating or not now but we have not been able to hear it,” he said.