AN-32 crash: Defence Minister Rajnath pays homage to air-warriors, meets their families

The Russian-made aircraft crashed on June 3 in Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF traced the aircraft on June 11, but could not retrieve the bodies due to bad weather and hostile terrain.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo | IAF/Twitter)

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday paid homage to all 13 air-warriors who lost their lives in the AN-32 crash in Arunachal Pradesh early this month.

Mortal remains of some of the deceased were also brought to Delhi, from where they would be sent to their hometown. Singh also met families of the deceased personnel here at the Palam Technical Area.

Paid tributes to Major Ketan Sharma who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting against the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

Major Sharma fought valiantly like a true soldier. My heart goes out to his bereaved family. pic.twitter.com/gJCcqEtFwD

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 18, 2019

"Met with the families and friends of the deceased Air-warriors of An32 and shared my grief and heartfelt condolences with them. My thoughts and prayers are with them. May God give them strength to bear this monumental loss," he tweeted.

The Russian-made aircraft crashed on June 3 in Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF traced the aircraft on June 11, but could not retrieve the bodies due to bad weather and hostile terrain. The bodies were finally recovered and brought to the Johrat Air base on Thursday.