The Indian Air Force on Thursday declared the 13 passengers of the missing AN-32 dead. The IAF condoled their demise and said that the force stood by their families.

A rescue operation had commenced at the crash site of the aircraft that went missing on June 3 and was spotted 16 kilometres north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh by Mi-17 helicopters on Tuesday.

IAF Pays tribute to the brave Air-warriors who lost their life during the #An32 crash on 03 Jun 2019 and stands by with the families of the victims. May their soul rest in peace.

With eight crew members and five armed forces personnel on board, the IAF aircraft lost contact with the ground control before it went off radar on June 3. The Russian-made plane, which was on its way to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh from Jorhat in Assam, went missing 33 minutes after it took off at 12.27 am.

An IAF official said after identifying the wreckage of the AN-32, a Cheetah helicopter and an ALH chopper reached the crash site but could not land due to high elevation and dense forest.