An airborne Sukhoi 30 aircraft went missing from near Tezpur airbase of the Indian Air Force (IAF) near Indo-China border on Tuesday morning even as the authorities are yet to trace the aircraft till filing of the report.
Tezpur based Defence spokesman lt. Col. Sombit Ghosh said that the fighter aircraft was airborne from Tezpur base on a routine training mission around 10.30 am on Tuesday. Tezpur airbase is one of the important airbases of the country considering the India’s eastern borders with China. Tezpur is located only about 400 kms from Indo-China border in Bumla.
“A Sukhoi 30 aircraft airborne from Tezpur on a routine training mission lost radar and radio contact approximately 60 kms from north of Tezpur. The aircraft is overdue and actions have been initiated,” said Ghosh. Tezpur is one of the three airbases in the country that host sophisticated fighter planes like Sukhoi 30.
It may be mentioned here that last year a Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft which took off from Tezpur airbase on a routine sortie crashed near Nagaon district of Assam. Although the two pilots ejected before the crash, the crash injured two civilians working on the paddy field where it crashed.