A Coast Guard Dornier surveillance aircraft with three crew members on board went missing last night off the coast of Chennai, aviation sources said today. The aircraft took off from Chennai at 5:30 PM yesterday and lost contact at around 10 PM in Tiruchirapalli, they said.It went missing about 95 miles south off Chennai.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have launched an extensive search and rescue operation in the area. Four Navy and five Coast Guard ships and one P8-I aircraft have been pressed into action to trace the missing plane.
Coast Guard sources said the aircraft was on a routine surveillance sortie over sea when it went missing.
