The Indian army has recovered the bodies of four soldiers near a Himalayan mountain pass who died when their military aircraft crashed into rugged terrain in 1968 – the culmination of a 56-year search.
The discovery near Rohtang Pass, a treacherous glacial area at an elevation of 13,000 feet, follows one of the longest-running search operations. Dozens of bodies from the disaster are still buried under the glacier.
The An-12 aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force was carrying 102 people when it crashed in Himachal Pradesh on February 7, 1968. The twin-engined turboprop transport plane was flying from Chandigarh, in the northern state of Punjab, to Leh, a desert city in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas.
For more than five decades, Indian authorities searched for the wreckage and the remains of the victims lost in the icy landscape.
A team of personnel from the army's Dogra Scouts and India's Tiranga Mountain Rescue retrieved four bodies near a group of peaks known as the Chandrabhaga range in the district of Lahaul and Spiti, about 70km from Rohtang Pass.
“After the postmortem on the bodies, they will be handed over to their families,” Mayank Chaudhary, a senior police officer in Lahaul and Spiti, told local media.
It comes nearly two decades after the wreckage of the plane was located near a glacier during an expedition by mountaineers. The climbers also discovered the remains of a sepoy, or infantryman.
The Dogra Scouts previously conducted search missions in 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2019 but only recovered five bodies during the last expedition.
The bodies recovered this time were identified using documents found at the scene. Vouchers and receipts bearing the addresses of the soldiers' relatives were discovered. One serviceman was carrying a book that recorded his wages. Their families have been informed.
"When he went missing, my parents were shattered. Mother asked my eldest brother to quit the force and return. She was scared. We have nothing left related to his memory," Thomas Varghese, brother of Thomas Cherian, one of the servicemen from Kerala state whose body has been recovered, told local news.
"The two houses where he spent his childhood are gone. His photo is also lost. It means so much to receive his mortal remains after a long time," Mr Varghese added.
One soldier has not been identified yet as documents recovered have not fully confirmed his identity. Their expedition to the area will continue until October 10, the army said.
“Recovery of these bodies will bring solace to the families who have been waiting for decades, hoping for answers and the return of their loved ones. The search for the mortal remains of other passengers is continuing, as the expedition runs until October 10,” the army said.
The wreckage of the doomed aircraft was first sighted in 2003 and its major portions including aero engines, fuel tank unit, fuselage and a cockpit door were reportedly recovered five years ago by an army-led mountaineering team.
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Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Result
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Brraq, Ryan Curatolo (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m; Winner: Bright Melody, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Classic – Listed (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Naval Crown, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $195,000 (T) 2,810m; Winner: Volcanic Sky, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
8.50pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
