A Russian-origin AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force with 13 persons on board went missing this afternoon.

The IAF said the aircraft took off from Jorhat at 12.27 pm for the Menchuka advance landing ground in Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh, and its last contact with the ground control was at 1 pm.

“Some ground reports were received on possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far,” the IAF said in a statement.

It said a total of eight aircrew and five passengers were on board the aircraft and that the IAF was coordinating with the Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft.

The IAF has deployed C-130J and AN-32 aircraft besides two Mi-17 choppers, while the Army has pressed into service advance light helicopters to locate the missing aircraft. “The search operations from air and by ground parties of the Indian Army are planned to continue through the night,” the IAF said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to the Vice-Chief of the force on steps to find the missing aircraft and was praying for the safety of all those on board.Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa is in Sweden on a four-day visit.

Official sources said the IAF has deployed all available resources to locate the aircraft. The AN-32 is a Russian origin aircraft and the IAF currently operates a sizeable number of it.