A Soviet Union-built AN-12 aircraft carrying Indian Air Force and Army personnel, had gone missing on 7 February, 1968. The aircraft with 98 passengers and four crew members were believed to have met with an accident while on its way to Leh.
It was flying from Chandigarh to Leh with 102 personnel on board on that fateful day. On the way, the weather became too rough and the pilot decided to turn back instead of going to Leh.
But, suddenly the aircraft dropped from the radars and went missing. It later crashed into Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh. All the inmates died in the crash. The last contact it had made was when it was flying over Rohtang Pass.
It was only in 2003 that the remnants of the plane were recovered in the Dhaka glacier during an expedition.
Also Read: Priya Prakash endorses Rahul’s wink, calls it a ‘sweet gesture’
A few days back on July 1, a mountaineering team on a cleanliness drive on Chandrabhaga-13 peak, came across a dead body. The team also found some more parts of the ill-fated aircraft. The cleanliness drive was organised by Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
The body has been identified as that of Sepoy Beli Ram, a soldier in Indian Army.