New Delhi, Jun 21 (UNI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday paid tribute to the 13 air warriors who laid down their lives in the line of duty in transport aircraft AN-32 crash in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month.
He also met the families of the deceased and consoled them at Palam Technical Area here.
Mortal remains of some of the deceased were also brought to Delhi, from where they would be sent to their hometown.
"Met with the families and friends of the deceased Air-warriors of An32 and shared my grief and heartfelt condolences with them. My thoughts and prayers are with them. May God give them strength to bear this monumental loss," Mr Singh tweeted later.
The Russian-origin aircraft crashed on June 3 in Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Air Force (IAF) located the wreckage of the aircraft on June 11 at a mountain slope in Arunachal Pradesh, but could not retrieve the bodies due to bad weather and hostile terrain.
The bodies were recovered and brought to the Johrat Air base on Thursday evening.
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