An Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft crashed on Saturday morning while attempting to land at a military base in the country’s remote northeastern state of Assam.

The military confirmed that the accident involved a Russian-made Antonov An-32, which was returning from a routine cargo and logistical sortie when the incident occurred.

The twin-engine turboprop aircraft, belonging to the 43 Squadron, met with the accident while coming in to land at the IAF station in the Rowriah area of Jorhat district, approximately 298 kilometers northeast of the state capital, Dispur.

Local eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud explosion near the runway, which was immediately followed by a thick plume of black smoke billowing from the site. Broadcast images from national news channels showed the aircraft apparently broken into pieces within the airbase perimeter, with emergency response teams and firefighting units working rapidly to contain a localized blaze

While initial bulletins from the air force stated that details regarding passengers were unknown, subsequent operational updates confirmed that five IAF personnel on board made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

The Indian Air Force released an official statement expressing its deepest condolences to the families of the victims:

“The Indian Air Force deeply regrets the loss of five personnel in the An-32 accident at Jorhat, Assam. Sqn Ldr Prashant Singh, Flt Lt Shubham Kumar, Sgt Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.”

An air force official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the co-pilot survived the impact and was evacuated to a military hospital for emergency medical stabilization.

The Antonov An-32 is a tactical twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft designed specifically to maintain high performance levels in extreme tropical climates and high-altitude mountain airfields. The IAF operates a fleet of approximately 100 of these Soviet-designed workhorses, utilizing them extensively to transport troops, drop paratroopers, and ferry critical military supplies or civilian humanitarian aid to difficult-to-access border regions.

The aviation disaster marks the latest major accident involving an IAF An-32 since 2019, when a similar transport aircraft crashed in the neighboring mountain terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, resulting in 13 fatalities. Air force headquarters has formally constituted a high-level Court of Inquiry to investigate the technical or environmental factors that caused Saturday’s landing failure.