The Indian Navy on Monday recovered the body of missing MiG-29k pilot Commander Nishant Singh 11 days after his plane crashed into the Arabian sea, according to several media reports.
As per The Times of India, Singh’s body was found 30 miles off the coast of Goa on the sea bed 70 metres below water after an extensive search mission.
India Today reported that as per protocol, his family has been informed and DNA tests are underway to confirm Singh’s identity, more details are awaited.
Mr. Nishant Singh had been missing since 26 November after his MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea. Rescue teams were able to recover one of the two pilots on board. Last week, the Indian Navy recovered some debris from the MiG-29K aircraft.
“Some debris of the aircraft, including landing gear, turbocharger, a fuel tank engine, and wing engine cowling has been located,” a defence release had stated.
In efforts to find Singh, the Indian Navy had deployed nine warships and 14 aircraft and the Indian Navy’s Fast Interceptor Craft to search waters along the coast of Goa.
The Russian-origin jet had taken off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and went down at 5 pm on 26 November.
The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG). The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia over a decade back at a cost of around $2 billion to operate from INS Vikramaditya.
INS Vikramaditya was part of the second phase of the Malabar exercise involving navies of India, the US, Australia, and Japan.
The MIG-29K fleet onboard the aircraft carrier was also involved in the mega naval drill that took place from 17 to 20 November.