Body near MiG-29K crash site recovered, believed to be that of missing pilot: Indian Navy

Indian Navy pilot Commander Nishant Singh went missing after his MiG-29K aircraft crashed November 26 into the Arabian Sea.

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The mortal remains of a human body has been recovered in the vicinity of the MiG-29K wreckage site off Goa coast. The samples have been sent for DNA testing for confirmation of identity, news agency ANI reported quoting Indian Navy spokesperson on Monday. 

The body is believed to be that of Indian Navy pilot Commander Nishant Singh crashed into the water 11 days ago. Pilot Commander Singh went missing after his MiG-29K aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea on November 26. The second pilot was rescued soon after the incident. 

The body was recovered by the rescue teams of the navy near the site of the crash. "Mortal remains of a human body have been recovered in the vicinity of the MiG-29K wreckage site off Goa coast. The samples are being sent for DNA testing for confirmation of identity," ANI reported quoting a statement from an Indian Navy spokesperson.

Earlier ANI had reported, "Indian Navy has recovered the body of the missing MiG-29K pilot Commander Nishant Singh on the seabed 70 metres below water. It has been found 30 miles off Goa coast after an extensive search. The aircraft had crashed on Nov 26 while operating over the Arabian Sea."

The navy told PTI that "aerial search by maritime reconnaissance aircraft and helicopter sorties amounting to 270 hours have been undertaken so far. Underwater search around the crash site which include extensive dives by saturation divers and continuous overnight search using HD camera have been undertaken in the last 10 days".

"All sections of the aircraft wreckage including ejection seats have been accounted for using side-scan sonar and HD cameras. The flight data recorder/cockpit voice recorder alongwith other important material has been recovered so far for analysis/investigation," it told PTI.

The Indian Navy deployed nine warships, 14 aircraft and a number of fast interceptor craft as part of the search and rescue mission to locate Commander Singh. The Navy had ordered a high-level inquiry to investigate the incident which was third involving the Mig-29K in the last one year.

A MiG-29K twin-seat fighter aircraft had crashed in South Goa district on November 16 in 2019, but both the pilots had ejected safely.
Another MIG-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast on February 23, 2020, after taking off from INS Hansa, a prominent naval air station at Vasco in Goa. The pilot of the aircraft had managed to eject safely.

The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG). The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia at a cost of around USD 2 billion to operate from INS Vikramaditya.