AN-32 Tragedy: Condolences pour in from politicians for the 13 martyred air warriors

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday confirmed that there were no survivors from the crashed AN-32 that had gone missing on June 3 with 13 persons on-board.

As the tragic news broke out, politicians sent their condolences. Chief Minister of Punjab and a military veteran, Captain Amarinder Singh tweeted and paid tribute to all the 13 air warriors who lost their lives. Here's what his tweet said:

Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot sent his heartfelt condolences and prayed for strength:

Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan channelled his condolences through Twitter and said:

"Very sad. I pay homage to the officer of the Indian Air Force who lost their lives in the AN-32 crash. The brave warriors have received Virgati. My prayers are with their bereaved families"

Congress President Rahul Gandhi conveyed his dismay:

Taking to Twitter, the IAF wrote that eight of its members had reached the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district on Thursday morning and that there were no survivors. The IAF has listed the names of the martyred Air Warriors:

• W/C GM Charles
• S/L H Vinod
• F/L R Thapa
• F/L A Tanwar
• F/L S Mohanty
• F/L MK Garg
• WO KK Mishra
• Sgt Anoop Kumar
• Cpl Sherin
• LAC SK Singh
• LAC Pankaj
• NC(E) Putali
• NC(E) Rajesh Kumar

On Tuesday, the AN-32's debris was located which confirmed that the aircraft had crashed. The finding came after 8 days of relentless search, following contact with the transport aircraft being lost shortly after it took off from Jorhat. The debris was spotted at least 16 km north of Lipo and north-east of Tapo at an elevation of 12,000 ft. The crash site was located by an IAF Mi-17 helicopter which was engaged in the search operations.

In a bid to search for the missing aircraft, the IAF mobilized every possible asset at its disposal. Light helicopters like Cheetah and UAV drones were also a part of the intensified search operation. Other military arms including the Indian Navy and Indian Army, as well as police and locals,  took part in the search operations which were ably assisted by the government of Arunachal Pradesh, with the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary overseeing operations themselves.