NEW DELHI:The body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat has been recovered by the Navy’s search and rescue teams on Thursday evening from the wreckage of the ill-fated Dornier Aircraft, which had crashed during a night training sortie off Goa, even as there was no trace of Sub-lieutenant Abhinav Nagori, the other officer reported missing in the aftermath of the mishap.
“The body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat has been recovered from the fuselage of the aircraft. The body is being taken to Goa,” Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said in New Delhi.Shekhawat, an Observer, had taken part in the first all-women contingent of the Navy at this year’s Republic Day Parade. Kiran, who hails from Rajasthan, was married to a fellow Naval officer.
According to Naval officials, the 16m-long fuselage of the crashed plane was found in the vicinity of its last known position.
“Hydrographic vessel INS Makar-- one of the 12 ships carrying out search and rescue operations-- on Thursday detected the crashed Dornier’s fuselage on the seabed using its side scan sonar. The wreckage was at a depth of 50-60m,”said a Naval official.
Immediately after spotting the wreckage, Naval divers on board the INS Matanga started their operation to scour the seabed, a Navy officer said.
The Dornier-228 is presently manufactured by state-run HAL and the Navy presently operates 36 Dorniers.