The search for missing Dornier aircraft of the Coast Guard under “Operation Talash” ended last night with the recovery of its remains.
The CG-791 aircraft took off from Chennai on June 8 to monitor the Tamil Nadu coast and the Palk Bay. It was last tracked 16 km off the coast of Chidambaram, about 200 km south of Chennai, by the airport radar in Tiruchirapalli. The aircraft was carrying three crew members including Pilot Deputy Commandant Vidya Sagar, co-pilot Deputy Commandant MK. Soni and navigator Subash Suresh.
“Operation Talash was terminated last night after getting maximum pieces of debris. The Coast Guard retrieved personal belongings of the crew members such as wrist watches from a depth of 950 metres,” defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted. “The human remains and wreckage of the aircraft was found at depths of 990 meters in position 17 Nautical miles south east of Cuddolore,” Coast Guard statement reads.
Eighty per cent of the aircraft’s parts were found on the seabed, Coast Guard inspector general SP Sharma told a news conference in Chennai. Most of the items were wires and cables which could not disintegrate.
The Coast Guard retrieved the flight data recorder in the waters off Pichavaram in Cuddalore district last week. Olympic Canyon, a vessel of Reliance Industries, and a submarine from the National Institute of Ocean Technology were involved in the search.