Search for missing Dornier aircraft enters fourth day

Chennai: The search for an Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft that was reported missing on Monday (June 8) evening continued for the fourth day on Friday.

An official here said the search team was yet to get any clue into the disappearance of the plane.

"The status is same as it was yesterday (Thursday) evening. The search operations are continuing," said an Indian Coast Guard official.

The glimmer of hope in the form of an oil slick found on the sea surface in the Karaikal area also got snuffed out on Thursday as test results ruled it was not aviation oil.

The coastal security agency said highly specialised Coast Guard/naval ships and several patrol boats of coastal security group were involved in the search operation.

Air sorties too have been carried out to locate the missing aircraft.

The missing Dornier had on board Deputy Commandant Vidyasagar piloting the aircraft, his co-pilot and Deputy Commandant Subash Suresh and navigator/observer M.K. Soni -- all in their 30s.

The missing aircraft was deployed for surveillance along the Tamil Nadu coast and over Palk Bay. 

It took off from Chennai airport around 6 p.m. on Monday (June 8) for a surveillance sortie but did not return.

An official statement issued on Tuesday (June 9) said the last contact with the aircraft was made at 9 p.m. on Monday.

The last known location of the aircraft, as per Trichy radar, was off Karaikal in Puducherry, where it was tracked till 9.23 p.m., 95 nautical miles south of Chennai.

"The aircraft was the latest induction in the Coast Guard inventory in 2014 and was being flown by a highly experienced crew," an official statement said.

The latest incident comes within months of a Dornier-228 of the Indian Navy with three crew members going down in the Arabian Sea off Goa coast.