AN-32 Debris Brings Back Painful Memories For Families In Odisha Waiting For Closure

Berhampur/Jajpur: Family members of Charana Moharana and Purna Chandra Senapti in Odisha are hoping for a closure with mystery surrounding the missing Indian Air Force’s An-32 transport aircraft with 29 personnel on board finally getting solved with a chance unearthing of its debris after seven and half years, during a deep sea exploration.

The AN-32 aircraft with registration K-2743 had gone missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, 2016, during an operational mission after taking off from Tambaram, Chennai, for Port Blair. The aircraft’s debris was found on the seabed, approximately 310 km from the Chennai coast, at a depth of 3.4 km. “This discovery at the probable crash site, with no other recorded history of any other missing aircraft report(ed) in the same area, points to the debris as possibly belonging to the crashed IAF An-32 (K-2743),” the IAF said in a statement on January 12.

The sudden discovery brought back memories of Charana, who was 27 years old then, and his parents, who live in Sukunda on the outskirts of Berhampur, are now hoping that his body would be found as well.

Couple of days after the aircraft went missing in 2016, two officers of the Naval Armament Depot officially informed Charana’s family about its disappearance. However, the family did not perform his last rites as the body was not found. “Even though the government declared him dead and paid the necessary compensation, I never believed it as his body was not found,” said Bishnu, Charana’s 65-year-old mother.

“Now that debris has been found, we are hopeful that his body will also be traced,” Charan’s sister Sasmita and cousin Ashok said.

Charana worked as a fitter in the Naval Armament Depot at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Senapati, a native of Rangaranga village in Jajpur district, worked as a technician at the same depot. “We have not performed the 11th day rituals according to Hindu beliefs. We strongly believe he is alive. Though the government declared him dead, we do not accept it. We hope, he will return one day,” his younger brother Pratap Chandra told PTI.