Four warships, three aircraft deployed to look for Boeing 777 in sea near Andaman
India on Thursday joined international search for the missing Malaysian passenger plane by deploying four warships and three aircraft. The Boeing 777 which disappeared last Friday with 239 people, including five Indians, on board is feared to have crashed near Andaman Sea. The joint search mission of the Indian Navy and IAF has been called “Operation Searchlight.”
The warships set sail from Port Blair and Campbell Bay on Thursday morning. Some of them are expected to reach the northern edge of Andaman Sea covering a distance of nearly 267 nautical miles by late evening. The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) will allot them a stretch for search operations in an area of 130x130 square nautical miles — around 17,000 square nautical miles (32,000 sq km).
At least 12 navies with 40 ships and the same number of aircraft are now scouring the vast expanse of the South Andaman Sea. Besides its warships, the Navy has also pressed into service two Dornier and one P 8-I long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. This aircraft can remain in the air for ten to 12 hours and is equipped with latest radars to detect any object on the surface and underwater.
The IAF has deployed two C-130 J medium range transport aircraft. Fitted with latest avionics and surveillance equipment, the C-130 Js will start sorties on Friday. If required, the IAF will also fly its Dornier medium range reconnaissance aircraft besides helicopters.
Giving details of the mission, sources said two warships INS Saryu and Coast Guard fast patrol boat Kanaktala Barua sailed from Port Blair while INS Kesari and INS Kumbhir sailed from Campbell Bay. These two ships are used for amphibious operations like ferrying troops and landing them on shore while Saryu is an offshore patrol vessel. This ship has taken part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
The three aircraft were launched from Port Blair with Dornier’s assigned the task of round-the-clock vigil. The Navy and IAF may fly more sorties, officials said.
Tri-Service Command based at Port Blair is providing all the assets while the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) at Naval Headquarters here is managing the operations. The MOC has established direct communication with RMN to share real time information and co-ordination. The Defence Crisis Management Group was also activated to monitor the progress of the search at Headquarter Integrated Defence Staff, a Defence Ministry statement said.
“With a formal request for help received from the Government of Malaysia in tracing the missing aircraft, the focus of the search has shifted to the Andaman Sea,” the statement said.
“With the search expanded to cover an area stretching from South China Sea to Andaman Sea, the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard have been pressed into service to look for the missing aircraft,” it added.