The relief of the family of a 30-year-old air force personnel from Arunachal Pradesh, who was recently transferred to Assam, was cut short when Tage Hailyang of Tajang village under Lower Subansiri district was among the 26 killed in Tuesday’s Pahalgam terror attack.

“We last spoke on April 16. He told me he had been transferred to Assam. All of us were happy that he would now be posted closer to home. But then this happened. He was vacationing with his wife. They were married only last year, in December,” his maternal uncle told the media on Wednesday.

Relatives, friends and officials showed up at his village home to offer their condolences.

“We are happy he gave his life for the country but we also request the defence minister, the home minister and the Prime Minister for an appropriate response to these killings,” his maternal uncle said.

Hailyang’s elder brother, Tage Mali, is in the army.

He reached Srinagar, where the deceased was posted, last night after getting a call from his sister-in-law about the incident. Hailyang had joined the IAF about nine years ago and had been posted in Kashmir for about four years.

His body will reach his native village on Thursday from Guwahati.

The IAF said in an X post: “All air warriors of the Indian Air Force mourn the loss of Corporal Tage Hailyang in the terror attack at Pahalgam and convey heartfelt condolences to his family in this moment of immense grief. The IAF stands in solidarity with the families of all those who lost their lives and prays for the swift recovery of the injured.”