The body of Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai was brought ashore at 5:00 am of June 18. (Photo: VNA)Nghe An (VNA) – The body of the missing pilot on board of fighter jet SU30-MK2 that went down during a training session was found on June 17 and brought ashore on June 18.
The body of Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai was found at around 6:00 pm on June 17 by a local fisherman, Dang Van Kinh, near Hon Mat, an islet 40 nautical miles off the coast of central Nghe An province.
At 5:00 am of June 18, the provincial coastguard brought the body ashore where more than 150 naval officers and hundreds of people, including Khai’s family members and comrades, and local residents, have gathered since early morning to wait for the late pilot.
His formal funeral will take place later at the Funeral House of the 4th Military Zone in Nghe An.
Khai was among two pilots on board of the Russian-made fighter jet that disappeared from radar on June 14. The other, Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, was rescued by other local fishermen at 5:00 am of June 15.
A CASA212 aircraft with 9 crewmembers aboard on a mission of searching for the jet and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai also lost contact at 12:30 pm on June 16.
After passing Bach Long Vy island district in the Tonkin Gulf by 44 nautical miles, the plane asked for permission to descend but communication was then cut.
Debris of the CASA212 has been discovered to the southwest of Bach Long Vy island near the delimitation line on the Tonkin Gulf.-VNA
