NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: An Indian air force plane carrying 29 people went missing on Friday on a flight to a remote island chain in the Bay of Bengal, the Defense Ministry said.
The Russian-made AN-32 was on its way to Port Blair, the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, from the southeast city of Chennai when it disappeared from radar.
Military officials said the weather had been rough in the Bay of Bengal for the last two days during the monsoon season.
The aircraft was last detected on radar 151 nautical miles east of Chennai, making a left turn with a rapid loss of height from 23,000 ft, according to a note provided by the air force to the Defense Ministry.
There were 21 military personnel on board including six crew. The other people on board were civilians, some family members of soldiers deployed on the islands.
“It was a routine courier mission to Port Blair, the plane was airborne at 8:30 a.m. and due to land at 11:30,” air force spokesman Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee said. It had fuel to fly for four hours and 15 minutes.
The plane was overhauled and went through an upgrade in September 2015, according to the note given to the ministry.
The plane had reported three snags this month, according to the note — a pressure leak from the port door, a hydraulic leak and sluggish throttle movement.
The Defense Ministry said four surveillance planes, 12 ships and a submarine were searching for the aircraft in one of India’s largest search and rescue operations in recent years.
India has been beefing up its military presence in the Andamans, 750 nautical miles from mainland India, in recent years.
The islands are near the Malacca Straits, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes which link the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and East Asia.
The Defense Ministry said the submarine had been deployed to locate transmissions from an emergency locator beacon on the aircraft. The AN-32 is a workhorse of the air force, chosen for its ability to operate from short runways.
The air force has 101 of the AN-32s that entered service in 1984 and have gone through mid-life upgrades and life extensions since then.
Indian military plane with 29 on board missing in Bay of Bengal
Indian military plane with 29 on board missing in Bay of Bengal
Indonesia’s first woman president awarded honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah University
- Megawati was recognized for her leadership and contributions to social, legal affairs
- She has received 10 other honorary degrees from Indonesian and foreign institutions
JAKARTA: Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as Indonesia’s fifth president and was the country’s only female head of state to date, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, becoming the first foreign national to receive the title.
Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno and chairwoman of the country’s largest political party, the PDIP, served as president from 2001 to 2004.
The 79-year-old was awarded an honorary doctorate in organizational and legal affairs in Riyadh on Monday during a ceremony overseen by Princess Nourah University’s acting president, Dr. Fawzia bint Sulaiman Al-Amro.
“This recognition was given in appreciation of her efforts during her presidency, her significant contributions to social, organizational, and legal fields, and her role in strengthening institutional leadership in Indonesia,” the university said in a statement.
This is Megawati’s 11th honorary doctorate. She has received similar degrees from Indonesian and foreign universities, including the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2003 and the Soka University of Japan in 2020.
She has also been awarded the title of honorary professor by several institutions, including by the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2022.
“We gather at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, a university that stands as a symbol of women’s progress in education, knowledge and public service … To see so many intelligent women, I feel very proud,” Megawati said in her acceptance speech.
“Women’s empowerment is not a threat to any values, culture or tradition. It is actually a condition for nations that believe in their future … A great nation is one that is able to harness all of its human potential. A strong nation is one that does not allow half of its social power to be left on the sidelines of history.”
Megawati is the longest-serving political leader in Indonesia. Indonesia’s first direct presidential elections took place during her presidency, consolidating the country’s transition to democracy after the downfall of its longtime dictator Suharto in 1998.
