Indian military plane missing with 13 on board

An Indian military aircraft with 13 people on board went missing Monday in the northeast of the country, the defence ministry said.

The Russian-built Antonov An-32 took off from Jorhat in Assam state at 12:25 pm (0655 GMT) headed for Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China.

“The aircraft last contacted ground agencies at 1300 hrs, thereafter there has been no contact,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

“A total of eight crew and five passengers were on board the aircraft,” it said.

Spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel P. Khongsai said every effort was being made to locate the missing plane.

Crashes by India’s sizeable fleet of ageing Russian military aircraft are relatively common.