ITANAGAR, Sept 19 - The Indian Air Force (IAF) has felicitated all civilians involved in the search and rescue operations of the ill-fated AN-32 aircraft that crashed on the Pari mountain near Gate village in Siang district on June 3 last.
The felicitation function was held at the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Aalo, the headquarters of West Siang district, on Wednesday.
Attending the function, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal RD Mathur said that the IAF is indebted to the State administration led by the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, DCs and SPs of Siang, West Siang and Shi-Yomi districts and all personnel who were directly or indirectly involved in the operations in locating the crash site, recovering the mortal remains along with black box and personal belongings of the crew members.
The Air Marshal felicitated the identified persons with certificates of commendation and appreciation, along with a sum of Rs 5 lakh which was earlier announced as cash award for any help in locating the crash site.
District Land Resource and Settlement Officer and then in-charge Extra Assistant Commissioner of Kaying in Siang district, Pumek Ronya received Rs 1 lakh on behalf of the Siang district administration to be distributed among the ground search team.
Tadut Tachung, a local of Payum village who gave the primary input of the AN-32 plane, was awarded Rs 1.50 lakh and a certificate of appreciation.
Everester Taka Tamut, who played a major role in the rescue operation, was awarded Rs 35,000 along with a commendation certificate and a medal by the AOC-in-C.
Another Everester, Kishon Tekseng, was handed over Rs 20,000 and a certificate of appreciation, while mountaineers Tagung Tamut, Talik Darung and Okenma Mize were awarded Rs 15,000 each along with certificates of appreciation. The head gaon burahs of Gaseng, Gate and Payum villages were awarded Rs 50,000 each.
Besides the then EAC (Kaying) Pumek Ronya, West Siang Deputy Commissioner Swetika Sachan, Siang district SP Kushal Pal Singh and APEDA Deputy Director Somar Potom, who were instrumental in month-long aerial and ground search operations, were also present during the felicitation programme. Circle Officer (Miging) Khoda Bhatt also coordinated the ground search team from Upper Siang district.
The Russian-origin Antonov 32 aircraft with 13 IAF personnel on board had crashed after it took off from the Jorhat airbase in Assam for the Mechuka ALG in Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
It was only after eight days of extensive search that the aircraft�s wreckage was found and the process of retrieving the bodies started. A 15-member team comprising eight IAF personnel, four Indian Army and three civilians, including mountaineer Taka Tamut, was airdropped near the crash site on June 13 for the rescue operation, two days after the wreckage was spotted. The team retrieved the remains of all 13 air warriors on June 20.
However, the rescue team was airlifted on June 29 after 17 days as they got stuck in the mountainous region due to inclement weather.
