Body of female officer aboard crashed naval airplane recovered

The body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat was on Thursday recovered from the fuselage of the ill-fated Dornier aircraft of the navy, which had crashed during a flying sortie off the Goa coast even as another officer continues to be missing.

“The body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat has been recovered from the fuselage of the aircraft. The body is being taken to Goa,” Navy Spokesperson Captain D K Shamra said in New Delhi.

Shekhawat, an observer, had taken part in the first all-women marching contingent of the navy during the Republic Day parade.

INS Makar, a naval hydrographic vessel, had detected a large metallic object using its side-scan sonar at a depth of 50-60 metres. Later on inspection, it was confirmed that the object was the fuselage of the Dornier aircraft.

The maritime surveillance aircraft had crashed south-west off Goa coast on Tuesday night at 10.08 pm.

Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi, who was flying the aircraft and has 4,000 flying hours to his credit, was rescued about an hour after the crash by a fishing vessel.

Presently, there are 12 ships, including two of Indian Coast Guard, and four aircraft involved in the search and rescue operations.