New Delhi: The wreckage of the Indian Air Force An-32 aircraft, with 29 personnel on board, that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, 2016, has been found, a Defence Ministry statement said on Friday.

The wreckage was located 140 nautical miles (approx. 310 km) from the Chennai coast.

The National Institute of Ocean Technology had recently deployed an autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) with deep sea exploration capability at the last known location of the missing An-32.

Analysis of search images indicated the presence of debris from a crashed aircraft on the seabed approximately 140 nautical miles (approx. 310 Km) from the Chennai coast.

The search images were scrutinised and found to conform to an An-32 aircraft.

This discovery at the probable crash site, with no other recorded history of any other missing aircraft reported in the same area, points to the debris as possibly belonging to the crashed IAF An-32 (K-2743).

The An-32 aircraft (registration K-2743) had gone missing with 29 personnel on board over the Bay of Bengal on July 22, 2016 during an OP mission. Large-scale search and rescue operations by aircraft and ships could not locate any missing personnel or aircraft debris.