Search, rescue outcomes of aircraft accidents announced

Hanoi (VNA) – The Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence have announced the initial outcomes of the search and rescue operations for the SU30 MK2 and CASA 212 aircraft.

The announcement released on June 24 said the SU30 MK2 military plane coded 8585, of Regiment 923 under Division 371 of the Air Defence – Air Force Service had an accident during a training session at sea above the waters off Nghe An-Thanh Hoa provinces, 40km to the northeast of Hon Mat Island. Two pilots on the plane, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai, and Major Nguyen Huu Cuong parachuted and the plane dropped into the sea .

Then during the search and rescue mission for the SU30 MK2, plane CASA-212 coded 8983 of Brigade 918 of the Air Defence – Air Force Service with nine crew members on board lost communications over the waters in the south-southeast of Bach Long Vi Island.

Right after the aircraft accidents, the Central Military Commission immediately reported to the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Government to proactively mobilise military, air defence, navy, marine police, border guard and fishery surveillance forces as well as civilian fishing boats to conduct search and rescue.

At the same time, the Ministry of National Defence contacted China to ask for facilitating the search to the east of the Vietnam-China delimitation line in the Gulf of Tonkin

After nine days of searching, the SU30 MK2 was located at 25 nautical miles to the northeast of Cua Van, Nghe An province. The search and rescue forces have found some debris of the aircraft and they are still seeking the black box and remaining parts.

Pilot Nguyen Huu Cuong was rescued and is receiving treatment, with his health getting better. The body of pilot Tran Quang Khai was found and brought to the mainland and a solemn funeral ceremony was held for the deceased.

The CASA 212 aircraft was affirmed to have gone down about 15 nautical miles to the south-southeast of Bach Long Vy Island, 2.7 nautical miles to the west of the Vietnam-China delimitation line in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The search teams retrieved key part of the aircraft at a depth of 50-60m, including the body, tail, propeller, technical parts and personal items of crewmembers. They also found some bodies at the accident site, which were defined as crewmembers on the plane.

It is concluded that the two aircraft met accidents and went down over the sea. All nine members of the CASA 212 are believed to have perished. Recovered bodies are being identified.

The General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army is responsible for directing forces to continue the search and recovery of the dead crew members and remaining parts of the two aircraft while ensuring absolute safety for the search and rescue teams, especially given recent bad weather patterns.

The forensic agencies and relevant units are urged to identify the bodies and objects found at the accident scene.

The General Political Department needs to implement effectively social welfares for the family members of the deceased.

Press agencies have to update promptly and accurately the information on search and rescue efforts.

After completing the recovery of the remaining parts of the two aircraft, the technical agencies will quickly analyse the data and find the causes of the accidents.-VNA