Kin expect a marine miracle as search for AN-32 intensifies

At Muthukrishnan’s father-in-law’s house in KK Nagar, there is only positive thinking that everything would end well. His father-in-law Palraj is confident that the tide would turn. 

“Muthukrishnan was posted to Port Blair only three months ago. He last visited here on July 20 and left early morning on July 22 to join duty onboard AN-32. It was a happy time for us. However, that same afternoon, my daughter received a call from Coast Guard officials saying that the aircraft was missing. Since then, my daughter has been in shock,” Palraj said, adding that he worked with the Coast Guard for 18 years and he was still hopeful.

R Dharmar, Muthukrishnan’s elder brother who is a head constable at a police station in Thoothukudi says “We hail from a village in Tiruchendur, and we are not very well-off. My father was a farmer and he died in 2002, but we have all been a close-knit family. My brother joined ITI after completing Class 12. He joined the force in 1997 and married in 2008.” 

Muthukrishnan last visited the village in January when his mother was taken ill. “But he always stayed in touch and called frequently,” said Dharmar in a sombre voice. Ever since the news broke of the missing aircraft, his mother has stopped talking and the villagers are trying their best to keep her morale high, he added. Muthukrishnan has two sons, aged 6 and 4 respectively, one of whom is a special child. “The officials are keeping us informed and they are visiting us,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the remote district of Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir, everyone is praying for the safe return of local boy Pritam Chand. “We pray for the safety and security of our son of the soil and all crew members of the missing AN-32 aircraft. We feel that their son would return safe and sound,” Sarpanch of Papria Panchayat Uttam Singh said. 

The family has hardly got any update on the incident as their hamlet Karma Papdia is located in a remote forest, 40 km away from Ramban district headquarters. 

Residents of this hamlet have been thronging the house of 24-year-old Airman Pritam Chand since the day the IAF aircraft went missing. The family members of airman, particularly his father Hansraj and mother Dwarikho Devi though distraught, have not lost hope of their youngest son returning safe and sound.

Meanwhile, the joint search and rescue teams are turning to underwater search using submarines. Coast Guard Eastern Region Commander Inspector General Rajan Bargotra said all the resources of Indian Navy and Coast Guard have been put to use along with several other agencies like Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). 

“We are conducting a surface search in 14400 square nautical miles and an aerial search of 60,000 square nautical miles. Unfortunately, we could not find any debris or survivors yet,” Bargotra said, adding the search would continue.