AN-32 crash: Rajnath consoles kin of dead air warriors

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday paid homage to all 13 air-warriors who lost their lives in the AN-32 crash in Arunachal Pradesh early this month.

IMAGE: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh consoles the family of a victim of the AN-32 crash, after his mortal remains were brought at AFS Palam in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

Mortal remains of some of the deceased were also brought to Delhi, from where they would be sent to their hometown.

Singh also met families of the deceased personnel at the Palam Technical Area.

"Met with the families and friends of the deceased Air-warriors of An32 and shared my grief and heartfelt condolences with them. My thoughts and prayers are with them. May God give them strength to bear this monumental loss," he tweeted.

IMAGE: Rajnath Singh pays tribute to the victims of the AN-32 crash, after their mortal remains were brought to AFS Palam in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

The Russian-made aircraft crashed on June 3 in Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Air Force traced the aircraft on June 11, but could not retrieve the bodies due to bad weather and hostile terrain.

The bodies were finally recovered and brought to the Johrat Air base on Thursday.

IMAGE: Tweeting about his meeting with the families, Singh wrote, "My thoughts and prayers are with them. May God give them strength to bear this monumental loss." Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

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