A Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft that was on a routine sortie was reported missing in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district around 7.42pm on Thursday.
A defence public relations officer issued a statement at 9.41pm, saying: “An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam, and was last in contact at 7.42pm. Further details are being ascertained. A search-and-rescue mission has been initiated.”
In an earlier message, the PRO had said: “One SUKHOI 30 missing from radar contact. Air Force team launched to ascertain the facts.”
A state government official from Karbi Anglong told The Telegraph that there were reports of a “loud sound being heard followed by fire rising from a hillock”.
“The affected area is far away from habitation. It has dense vegetation. Everything will become clear in the morning,” the official said.
Locals, sources said, heard a loud explosion around 7.30pm from the nearby hills in Chokihola. Search and rescue teams have reached the area, which falls under Chokihola police station in the Bokajan sub-division of Karbi Anglong district.
