An Indian Army expedition has recovered the remains of four soldiers from the 1968 AN-12 aircraft crash in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul valley. This recovery, part of a long search operation, brings hope to victims' families, with identities confirmed for three of the soldiers.
An Indian Army expedition found the remains of 4 soldiers from the wreckage of an AN-12 aircraft that tragically went down in the Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh in 1968. The aircraft, operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), was carrying 102 Army personnel on a routine flight from Chandigarh to Leh when it faced disaster over fifty years ago.
Mayank Chaudhary, the Superintendent of Police for the Lahaul-Spiti district, confirmed the discovery on Monday (Sep 30) evening through a satellite phone call from the Army expedition team. This team was conducting a mountaineering expedition in the remote and rugged area of CB-13 (Chandrabhaga-13 Peak), located near Batal in Lahaul-Spiti.
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Chaudhary stated, “4bodies have been found, and initial findings suggest these remains are from the 1968 AN-12 aircraft crash.”
The recovery marks a significant milestone in one of India’s longest-running search operations. The AN-12 twin-engine turboprop aircraft had gone missing on February 7, 1968, while flying from Chandigarh to Leh. The mission to recover the remains has been a joint effort between the Dogra Scouts of the Indian Army and the Tiranga Mountain Rescue team.
An official remarked, “In a remarkable development, the search and rescue mission has made significant progress.” For decades, the wreckage and victims' remains were lost in the icy terrain of Rohtang Pass, reported TOi.
In 2003, mountaineers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering found the wreckage, which led to several expeditions by the Indian Army, particularly the Dogra Scouts. They carried out search missions in 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2019, but only five bodies were recovered by 2019 due to the difficult conditions at the crash site.
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With the latest efforts from the Chandra Bhaga Mountain Expedition, four more bodies have been found, bringing hope to the families of the victims. Three of the identified bodies belong to Malkhan Singh, Sepoy Narayan Singh, and Craftsman Thomas Charan. The identity of the fourth individual has not been conclusively established, although documents found with the body contained details of their relatives.
Craftsman Thomas Charan was from Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, and his mother, Eleama, has been informed about the recovery. Malkhan Singh’s identity was confirmed through official records, and Sepoy Narayan Singh, who served in the Army Medical Corps, was identified based on documentation. He hailed from the village of Kolpadi in Chamoli Tehsil, Garhwal, Uttarakhand.