One month on, no trace of missing Coast Guard air crew

Chennai, July 7: It has been a month since the Indian Coast Guard plane with three crew members went missing, but the search is still on, an official said on Tuesday.

"The search for the crew and the missing plane is still on. There is no update on the situation," a Coast Guard official told IANS.

The Dornier aircraft with three crew members -- all in their 30s -- went missing on the night of June 8 while returning to the base after a regular surveillance sortie along the Tamil Nadu coast and Palk Bay.

The aircraft took off around 6 p.m. on June 8 and there has been no news about its whereabouts after that. An official statement said the last contact with the aircraft was made at 9 p.m. on that day.

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

Family members of the missing crew are still hoping for some good news, though a few of them feel India could have sought international help in the search operations.

IANS