India offers $8,000 reward to find missing transport plane carrying 13 people
Indian authorities announced the reward after previous high-tech search measures were unsuccessful.
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An-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Photo:IAF |
The Indian Air Force and the Arunachal Pradesh state government on June 8 announced a reward of 550,000 rupees (nearly 8,000 USD) for village leaders to organize searches for the AN-32 military transport plane that went missing on June 3 with 13 people on board, including 8 crew members and 5 soldiers.
The Soviet-made plane went missing near the Chinese border and so far air searches, satellite surveys and attempts to pick up the plane's signal have all failed.
Apart from using Indian Space Research Organisation satellites and other high-tech assets, ground teams are also scouring the Mechuka jungles for the missing aircraft.
The Air Force said it would offer a reward of 500,000 rupees (more than $7,200) and local authorities would offer a reward of 50,000 rupees (720 USD) for "credible information" leading to the recovery of the plane.
Rewards for missing aircraft are rare. A $80 million reward was offered for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014, but its whereabouts remain unknown.
The Indian Army has deployed nine helicopters, along with fighter and transport aircraft, to search for the plane. The ground search operation, focused mainly in Siang district, is being carried out by police, air force, army, border guards and local people. Bad weather has hampered the operation in recent days but the large-scale search effort resumed yesterday.
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