1 plane, 102 bodies, and an answer buried 6 feet under snow
- Team TOI Plus
- Updated: Oct 3, 2024, 19:42 IST IST
In February 1968, an air force plane with 102 men on board took off from Chandigarh and disappeared over Lahaul-Spiti less than an hour later. The first body wasn’t found until 2003, and so far only eight more have been recovered. What went wrong that day, and why is it so hard to find the bodies and the answer?
On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force flew into a mountain. Seventy-two days later, 16 of its 45 passengers were found alive. But nobody on board Indian Air Force’s ‘’ that took off from Chandigarh around 6am on February 7, 1968 was so lucky.
The Soviet-made Antonov-12 transport plane, belonging to IAF’s 25 Squadron, just disappeared at 6.55am that day and was not found until almost 35 years later. For the families of its four crew and 98 soldier-passengers, agonising decades lay ahead. Parents withered, children grew up and started families of their own, but those 102 men remained frozen in time.
The Soviet-made Antonov-12 transport plane, belonging to IAF’s 25 Squadron, just disappeared at 6.55am that day and was not found until almost 35 years later. For the families of its four crew and 98 soldier-passengers, agonising decades lay ahead. Parents withered, children grew up and started families of their own, but those 102 men remained frozen in time.
